Children's National Opens Concussion Clinic on Eastern Shore

Washington, DC - This month, Children's National Health System opened a new clinic to expand its nationally-recognized Safe Concussion Outcome Recovery & Education (SCORE) Program services onto the Eastern Shore in Salisbury, MD.

Each year, millions of children and teenagers are diagnosed with concussions or traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) - only half are sports-related.

Early diagnosis and treatment planning is critical to a smooth recovery. That's why the Children's National SCORE Program has expanded services onto the Eastern Shore to work with local medical providers to treat children and adolescents who have sustained a concussion or TBI.

The clinic is led by the Division Chief of Neuropsychology and Director of the SCORE Program at Children's National, Gerard Gioia, PhD. Dr. Gioia is known across the country as a pediatric concussion and TBI expert.

"At Children's National, we are dedicated to doing what's best for children, and we are thrilled to be able to expand our concussion and TBI expertise to reach children and families living in the Eastern Shore communities," Dr. Gioia said.

Trusted concussion experts in the program will provide patients, ages 5-22, with concerns about a potential concussion, the following services:
• Evaluation and management of injury and its effects
• Development of an active treatment plan for daily rehabilitative activities that promote recovery
• Tracking progress toward recovery
• Individual case consultation with primary care or referring physicians, school, and sports personnel
• Counseling patients and families on return-to-risk activities
• Return-to-play medical clearance
• Referrals to local rehabilitation programs for additional therapies when needed
• Education and training of coaches, parents, and kids on recognition and response of suspected concussions

Children's National physicians also offer telemedicine services on the Eastern Shore to better serve patients and families, bringing pediatric specialty care into their homes and communities.

The SCORE program is a comprehensive concussion management program, which has provided individualized expert care for over a decade. The program is unique in the Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, and Delaware area, and has collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to pioneer the development of clinical tools used to diagnose and treat concussions that are now commonly used nationally and internationally.

The clinic is located at 6503 Deer Pointe Drive, Suite B, Salisbury, MD 21804 (Peninsula Orthopaedic Associates) and is open every Friday from 8 am to 6 pm.

To schedule an appointment, please call 202-476-2429. To learn about our new Eastern Shore location or find out more about the services offered visit ChildrensNational.org/SCORE.

Contact: Lauren Lytle at 202-476-4500