The Injury Free Coalition for Kids (IFCK), which includes the Injury Prevention team from Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and Children’s Memorial Hermann, along with faculty from McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), participated in the first National Injury Prevention Day on Wednesday, November 18, 2020.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, children are dealing with another crisis. Injuries are the leading cause of death and disability to U.S. children from 1 to 18 years-old. Injuries are a significant problem in our area, as our unintentional injury rate is higher than the state and national averages. Many of these injuries and deaths are preventable with the use of education, safety practices and equipment, and the implementation of strong legislation.
Doctors, nurses, and injury prevention teams at close to 40 Level I Trauma Centers around the country joined forces that day, each in their own way addressing the injuries most prevalent in their communities. This was held to increase awareness of the large number of children who suffer from injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes, poisoning and unsafe storage of firearms. In addition safe sleep, home safety, holiday safety and other injuries often seen in emergency departments across the country.
On November 18, businesses across Houston were encouraged to ‘Shine a Green Light’ by lighting their buildings green to show participation. Several Memorial Hermann campuses, along with Houston City Hall, Toyota Center, the I-69 Montrose Bridges, and the Texas Medical Center Police Station all successfully joined in the effort. Memorial Hermann Southeast and Pearland campus created buttons to boost morale of staff and encourage patient conversations around injury prevention.
Other efforts included engaging on social media with a blog post written about everyday ways to prevent and protect by Sandy McKay, MD, an associate professor at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and a pediatrician with UT Physicians, the clinical practice of McGovern Medical School and is affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.
We hope you will save the date of November 18, 2021 for the next national opportunity to Shine a Green Light on Injury Prevention.
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