Issue No. 1: The First Minutes
Issue No. 1 | October 2026 | The First Minutes Edition
Hi there, this is Sheldon from the Industrial Concussion Institute, and welcome to the very first issue of the Institute newsletter. Once a month I will bring you the newest article from the website, the framework behind it, one useful finding from the research we track, and what is happening with training and talks.
Welcome to the Institute Newsletter
The New Website
Research, Training and Blog
industrialconcussion.org has launched. It is the home base for everything the Institute does. A few places worth bookmarking.
Research. A library of 109 sources, each with a plain-language summary. Training. Presentations, workshops and on-site education for safety teams. Blog. Articles and field notes on head injuries at work.
From the Website
Head Injury at Work: What to Do in the First Minutes. The first minutes after a head strike are rarely calm. Stop the task, make the scene safe and stay with the worker. Check the red flags from the Concussion Recognition Tool 6. Any one of them means call 911. No red flags does not mean no concussion. If you suspect one, the worker is off duty for the rest of the shift.
Workers often play injuries down, so ask directly and make it clear that speaking up is the right call. Symptoms can show up hours later, so make late reporting easy and add new symptoms to the original incident record. Read the head injury at work guide.
The Framework: Recognize, Refer, Document
Everything in that article comes back to three steps. Recognize. Stop the task, stay with the worker and check for red flags. Refer. Red flags mean 911. No red flags but a suspected concussion means a same-day evaluation by a health care provider, following your site plan.
Document. Write facts with times while they are still fresh. Worker reported headache at 10:42 a.m. is far more useful than mild concussion. None of this asks your team to become clinicians. When a worker can return is the treating provider call.
A Free Tool for the First Two Steps
ICAT, the Industrial Concussion Assessment Tool, is free and open source. It is built for the people on site when it happens: safety managers, first aiders, onsite medical staff, injury-prevention specialists and athletic trainers in industrial and occupational settings. It runs in your browser, and when you finish you have a written report you can save as a PDF.
Research Corner
In a study of 172 working adults seen for concussion at three Canadian emergency departments, 91% were back at work within 90 days, yet 41% reported persistent symptoms. The authors concluded that many workers return while still experiencing symptoms (Gaudet et al., Occupational Medicine, 2019).
Training and Talks
The full training program is on the website, with workshops, presentations and on-site sessions for safety teams. If your organization needs a session, get in touch and we will set something up.
Upcoming Talks
GOSH 2027, the Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health Conference, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Thursday March 4, 2027, 11:30am to 12:30pm. Workplace Concussion Recognition and Return-to-Work: Beyond Sport Protocols.
Until Next Time
Next month, I will be back with the newest article from the website and another finding from the research. If there is a question you would like me to cover, just reply to this email. And if someone on your safety team could use this, feel free to pass it along.
Thanks for being here at the start. Work safe so you go home in one piece. Warmly, Sheldon Victorine, MS, ATC, CSCS, Founder and Lead Researcher, Industrial Concussion Institute.
