CALUMET – At the start of the 2015-16 school year, 70 member schools of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) across the state were invited to participate in one of two testing programs aimed at assisting in decision-making regarding the removal of athletes from activity after possible concussion-causing incidents, and record-keeping of those incidents.

“Of the more than 30 Michigan high schools participating in one test, called the King-Devick Test, only two are from the Upper Peninsula,” Kelly Fosness, communications specialist at Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital, said. They are Calumet and Lake Linden-Hubbell high schools.

Dorothy Jamison, a certified athletic trainer for Aspirus Keweenaw, is involved in the sideline concussion testing program. She covers sporting events for both schools.

“Calumet High School’s athletic director, Sean Jacques, was the person who approached Dorothy on this program,” Fosness said.

The King-Devick Test is associated with the Mayo Clinic and measures impairments of eye movement, speech, language and concentration in comparison to a baseline score.

The test involves reading aloud a series of numbers from left to right on three test scores, Jamison said. “All athletes are given the the test at the start of the athletic season to determine their baseline score.”

After a suspected head injury, players take the test on the sideline. The test is given using a tablet and takes less than a minute. The scores are compared to the the pre-season baseline score. Any slowing of the time required to complete the King-Devick test can be an indication the player should removed from the game for further evaluation.

“We’re ensuring great care for all the athletes at both schools,” Jamison said. “Anything we can do to make sports safer is what we’re going to do.”

A number of National Hockey League teams are currently using the same pilot study.

“We’re being cautious; we’re being educated,” Jamison said. “We’re taking the initiative to see if athletic programs can benefit from this type of sideline tool.”