Concussion Task Force

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino recently created a 20-person task force to tackle the issue of concussions in local high school sports. The task force is working on improving the current standards on preventing and treating concussions for high school athletes.

Four of the 20 members are physicians from Westchester Medical Center Health Network’s Valhalla campus: Jonathan Berkowitz, MD, Medical Director of Regional Emergency Services, Inter-Facility Transfer and Disaster Medicine at Westchester Medical Center; and from Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, Vicki Iannotti, MD, Associate Chief of General Pediatrics and Pediatric Hospitalist; Ronald Jacobson, MD, Chief of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergy and Sleep Medicine; and Avinash Mohan, MD,
Co-Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery.

According to Astorino, there is a need for better treatment for concussions. “While there have been great strides in understanding concussions, developing concussion protocols and improving safety rules and equipment, there is still room for improvement, especially with respect to post-injury management on the inter-scholastic sports level,” said Astorino at the task force’s announcement.