Injury Prevention

Community Outreach/Injury Prevention Programs

Traumatic injuries can affect anyone at any time. Injuries are often preventable.

It is likely that you or someone you know has been affected by an injury: a neighborhood child killed in a car crash; a friend who committed suicide; an older relative who fell and suffered a traumatic brain injury (now known as TBI).

Injuries affect everyone, regardless of age, race or economic status. In the first half of life, more Americans die from violence and injuries — such as motor vehicle crashes, falls, or homicides — than from any other cause, including cancer, HIV, or the flu.

Deaths are only part of the problem. Each year, millions of people are injured and survive, but are often faced with lifelong behavioral, physical and financial problems.

To prevent injuries, it is necessary to have information about the factors that contribute to their occurrence.

• An injury is any unintentional or intentional damage to the body
• Major trauma can potentially lead to serious outcomes
• Injury is the fifth leading cause of death in all age groups. It is the leading cause of death in ages 1-42
• Most common fatal mechanisms of injury are falls, motor vehicle accidents and firearms.
• Falls are the leading mechanism of injury and death in the elderly; in the older adult population of Nassau County, 88% of all injury hospitalizations were due to falls
• Males have a higher rate of injury death in all ages

We know that Prevention Saves Lives

Injuries are so common that we often just accept them as part of life, but they can be prevented, and their consequences reduced. We know prevention works. For example:

• Seatbelts have saved an estimated 255,000 lives between 1975 and 2008
• Child safety seats, when correctly installed and used, reduce the risk of death by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers aged 1-4 years. 
• Studies in the U.S. and elsewhere have shown that bike riders wearing helmets are less likely to suffer brain injuries than those who don’t
• Sobriety checkpoints are proven effective in reducing alcohol-related crashes and deaths by approximately 17-25%
• Tai Chi, Stepping On and other exercise programs for older adults have been shown to reduce falls by as much as half among participants.

South Nassau’s Trauma Center is:

• Following injury trends in Nassau County
• Identifying priority areas for injury prevention based on local data
• Planning, implementing, and evaluating prevention programs that meet the needs of the community
• Education for medical professionals and the community
• Working with local, state and national organizations
  

The Trauma Center is working to reduce these common types of injuries by offering FREE community programs to increase awareness and provide safety education.

Concussion/TBI management

Student athlete/parent/coach/school faculty sports safety information sessions.

• Learn the signs and symptoms of concussion
• When to seek treatment
• Post-concussion follow-up with a concussion management specialist at our SMART center ( Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Therapy Center)
• Visit the CDC – Concussion Website for more information
  
• Now offering FREE baseline testing via ImPACT. Post-concussive ImPACT testing is also offered at our SMART Center, along with follow-up care prior to ‘return-to-learn’ and/or ‘return-to-play.’ Visit the ImPACT website for more information.
  

Preventing Falls in Older Adults

• Learn if you are at risk and what you can do to prevent falls
• Review Home Health and Safety topics
• Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention (8-week program)
• Stepping On (7-week program)
• Informational programs for senior groups
• Visit the CDC – Falls Website for more information
  

Injury Prevention Classes

Tai Chi and Stepping On are both evidence-based programs to help participants reduce their risk of falling by up to 50%. Call our Injury Prevention Coordinator at (516) 442-5766 for more information and/or to register for future classes!

Tai Chi and Stepping On Classes
(In Hospital Events calendar, search Tai Chi or Stepping On for future dates.) 

Trauma Talk

This particular program is geared towards high school students. It has become increasingly popular, and students (and teachers) state that it is a truly informative, eye-opening interactive discussion. Adolescent/young adult traumatic injuries related to drugs and alcohol are all too prevalent in our society. To gain the generation’s attention, it is a laid-back, open communication, no-judgement-zone, hands-on discussion, where true life trauma stories are told based on experiences as a trauma nurse over the years, all while maintain HIPAA privacy. Medical equipment, such as an Endotracheal Tube (ET) and a foley catheter are displayed and passed around the room while their purposes are discussed. Their questions are answered honestly. This program is not meant to frighten or punish participants; the goal is to open their eyes to the potential dangers drugs and alcohol can play when not making smart choices.

Feedback: “It was nice having you come in today to talk to our students...I feel like you always have an impact with the students you talk to. Any time you have an idea about presenting anything, please let me know, and we’d be happy to have you back. By the way, I overheard a student leaving the guidance office, saying she wants to watch it with the drinking. Nice work”. - Administrator from local Nassau County School District, Nov. 2018

Stop the Bleed

Stop the Bleed is a national program that was developed after the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut. As a result, many national groups such as the Hartford Consensus, US Military, US EMT Association and the American College of Surgeons came together under a White House initiative and formed Stop the Bleed. The program is about an hour long, incorporating a PowerPoint as well as hands-on practice with tourniquets and packing wounds, and holding firm, continuous pressure. The program is designed for all laypersons to be able to learn how to recognize life-threatening bleeding and to immediately respond using either a tourniquet and/or packing a wound and holding continuous pressure until EMS arrives. The training is free, and everyone receives a certificate at the end.  It is a life skill that we are encouraging all people to learn to be prepared for, just as if one were trained in CPR or the Heimlich Maneuver.

South Nassau employees have trained over 1,800 people in Stop the Bleed in 2018. The desire for this program to be presented in schools and community settings is growing tremendously. Please contact Allison Anderson to set up a FREE one-hour training.

Learn More

Programs can be tailored to meet the needs of your group or organization. Please contact us directly to schedule one of the above programs or discuss additional programs that will fit your need. For more information, please contact our Injury Prevention Coordinator:

Allison Anderson, RN, CPEN
Department of Surgery-Trauma
(516) 442-5766
allison.anderson@snch.org