Summer Safety – June is National Safety Month

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With warm weather comes a host of exciting outdoor activities: swimming, boating, biking, road trips, fireworks and camping to name a few. But, when precautions aren’t taken, many of these activities can also end in injury. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability in the United States. 2.5 million TBIs occurred either as an isolated injury or along with other injuries in 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One group at SIU School of Medicine makes it its mission to prevent injuries.

ThinkFirst is an injury prevention program offered by SIU’s Division of Orthopaedics. ThinkFirst at SIU is a chapter of the national ThinkFirst Program sponsored by the American College of Neurosurgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons throughout the country. The group offers injury prevention programs as a public service, at no cost.

PubAffSome of their programs include:

  • ThinkFirst for Teens brings ThinkFirst health professionals and an injured speaker to present to high school students on basic brain and spine anatomy and brain and spinal cord injury prevention.
  • ThinkFirst for Youths/Kids presentations are interactive activities focused on brain and spinal cord injury specifically addressing bike helmets, seat belt usage and basic safety for elementary and middle school students.
  • At Victim Impact Panels, an injured speaker presents information to court-ordered DUI offenders.
  • In the Crash Re-Enactments, ThinkFirst staff assist high schools in constructing simulated crash scenes to demonstrate the leading cause of injury and death for teens.
  • At community health fairs, ThinkFirst staff present information on brain and spinal cord injuries and prevention strategies.
  • To prevent pediatric acquired brain injuries, ThinkFirst works with local schools to educate and fit students with bicycle helmets.PubAff

The following agencies have joined forces to achieve our goal of safer communities: Think First Foundation (National Head and Spinal Cord Injury Prevention Program), Illinois Department of Transportation – Traffic Safety Division, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Illinois Safe Kids and the Illinois State Police.

ThinkFirst at SIU School of Medicine has been serving central and southern Illinois for 25 years, presenting to audiences of all ages about brain and spinal cord injury prevention. ThinkFirst has made more than 5,500 presentations in its history, reaching more than 400,000 people.  Since 2003, ThinkFirst has brought in $3.8 million in grants for SIU School of Medicine and has been a self-sustaining outreach program to the community.

Visit SIU’s ThinkFirst website for more information.

-rb