UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- With football season in full swing and football injuries on the rise, national attention has been drawn to the number of concussions plaguing players.
WPSU-TV’s next "Conversations LIVE" will tackle the effects of concussions and the new techniques in place to prevent these injuries. Host Patty Satalia will discuss sports-related concussions with four experts of the topic: Jim Gilmore, Ruben Echemendía, Camdin Crouse and Wayne Sebastianelli.
The 60-minute show is interactive, taking viewers’ phone calls, emails and questions via Twitter. Viewers can join the conversation by calling 800-543-8243 during the show, emailing connect@wpsu.org or tweeting @WPSU. "Conversations LIVE: Concussions" will air on at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, on WPSU-TV, WPSU-FM, WQLN-TV in Erie and online at http://wpsu.org.
Echemendía served as director of Penn State’s Psychological Clinic for 15 years before pursuing a full-time independent practice. He previously worked with the U.S. Soccer Federation and the U.S. national soccer teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey Club, and several minor league, college and high school programs as a neuropsychological consultant.
Gilmore has been a reporter/co-producer on dozens of "Frontline" documentaries, including most recently, “League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis.” The investigation draws on more than 200 interviews with scientists, doctors and former players, including some of the NFL’s all-time greats, as well as previously unpublished medical records, NFL memorandums and emails.Crouse was a graduate assistant with the Robert Morris University football team, serving as the quarterback coach after playing that position under former NFL coach Joe Walton. After being accepted to Penn State’s College of Education for the masters degree program in rehabilitation counseling, he joined the Penn State Ability Athletics team.
Sebastianelli started his tenure-track position with Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in 1992 as medical director for Penn State Sports Medicine in State College, where he continues to cultivate the Sports Medicine program. He currently serves as Kalenak Professor in Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, director of Athletic Medicine at Penn State and as chief of staff for Mount Nittany Medical Center.