News

Greetings to you all,

In service as Chair and on behalf of the State Trauma Advisory Committee’s (STAC) Injury Prevention Subcommittee, I am writing this letter to formally voice opposition to some recently filed legislation, Senate Bill 566 (SB566) and House Bill (HB615), short titled, the NC Consumer Fireworks Safety Act. It is the wish of the injury prevention professionals from each of the 14 Trauma Centers represented in this committee that this legislation as proposed not be permitted to reach approval/become law in our state.

It is of great concern to our committee that passing such legislation will result in an increase of fireworks related injuries, deaths, and hospital costs across North Carolina. Our perspective is based on studies that show increased fireworks-related injuries in states that have loosened their restriction on fireworks laws. Since 2008, six additional states have legalized discharge of consumer grade fireworks and during that time serious injuries in those states increased by 75%.

In 2018, 191 North Carolina residents visited an emergency department due to a firework related injury, and during 2017 and 2018 the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center admitted 33 patients due to fireworks related injuries.. Eight of these patients were under the age of 16. The average hospital cost of burn patients at the NC Jaycee Burn Center during that time period was over $62,000 per patient, which means hospital costs for these 33 patients was an estimated $2 million total. The cost and frequency of fireworks related injuries in North Carolina is already too high, and if this bill were to be approved we can expect to see a significant increase in both. Although the proposed bill includes tax revenue language based on the sales of these “consumer fireworks”, those proposed monies simply do not equate to the real cost of hospital bills and the emotional cost for those who have lost someone or been injured in a fireworks related injury.

Please join the State Trauma Advisory Committee for Injury Prevention in opposition to SB 566 and HB 615. Reach out to your local legislators and voice your concerns.

Sincerely,

Tricia Smar
STAC Injury Prevention Subcommittee Chair

Chances are you know someone who has fallen or who is afraid of falling. A Matter of Balance is a proven program designed to help people manage concerns about falls and increase physical activity. Southern Maine Agency on Aging is looking for volunteers to help provide this program.

This program emphasizes practical strategies to manage falls.

Participants learn to:

• view falls as controllable
• set goals for increasing activity
• make changes to reduce fall risks at home
• exercise to increase strength and balance

Classes are held twice a week for 4 weeks for 2 hours each.

Coaches help participants become more confident about managing falls, help to identify ways to reduce falls, and lead exercises to help increase strength and balance.

What do you need to be a coach?

• good communication and interpersonal skills
• enthusiasm, dependability and a willingness to lead small groups of older adults
• ability to lead low to moderate level exercise

Get Trained!

When: August 19th & 20th from 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Where: UNC Wellness Center Meadowmont

Presented by UNC Trauma Program

To Register Please Contact Anna Stormzand at 984-974-2437 or anna.stormzand@unchealth.unc.edu

The North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center Donates 350 Fire Extinguishers to Families in Need

A fire in Efland, North Carolina launched an idea for fire safety classes that eventually grew to a collaboration between the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, Orange County Fire Marshal and Safe Kids that culminated in community education and donation of life-saving fire extinguishers.

In January 2018 an accidental fire broke out at a home in the Tinnin Woods neighborhood, located in Efland, North Carolina. A fire that began on the outside of the home, spread quickly to the inside, leaving behind a few walls and destroying the property of a family who could ill afford it. The fire and its destruction rocked the small community who thought the smoke alarms and sprinkler systems in their homes were protection enough against something like this happening. Tinnin Woods is a small neighborhood of homes built for and by families in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, which works to change lives by bringing together people and resources to help families build and own quality affordable homes in safe and supportive communities.

“There was an outpouring of compassion from the community and Habitat to help the family who lost their home in the fire,” said Marisa Martini, Community Development Manager for Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, NC.  “Simultaneously homeowners in our neighborhoods started asking questions about how they could protect their homes and families from this type of tragedy.”

Neighbors and other homeowners quickly came together to support the family affected by organizing a food and donation drive to help address some of the family’s immediate needs. The Habitat Homeowner Planning Committee, a group of homeowners who meet biweekly to discuss community concerns, plan events, and volunteer their time and efforts to help improve their community, led this effort and then involved Martini, to plan fire safety classes.

Martini coordinated with the Orange County Fire Marshal, Jason Shepherd, and his team, as well as the Efland Volunteer Fire Department, Chapel Hill Fire Marshal, and Orange County Emergency Services to conduct fire safety classes. During the classes, held earlier this summer, homeowners learned about common fire hazards, smoke detectors, how to make a fire escape plan, and how to use a fire extinguisher. The events were educational for adults and kids alike since they had a chance to meet firefighters, ask questions, and explore a fire truck.

At the class held in Efland participants had the unique opportunity to use a fire extinguisher first hand. “We bring our fire extinguisher system with us when we teach fire safety classes,” said Shepherd. “It involves our team, that included Assistant Fire Marshals David Sikes and Elizabeth Farnan, creating a controlled fire that people can then practice using fire extinguishers on so they can get confident using one in a real fire.”

There was just one problem, participants were learning how to use a fire extinguisher, a major component of the fire safety class, but few families owned one. Marisa reached out to a former colleague, Anna Stormzand, whom she attended school with at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and who is the coordinator of Safe Kids Orange County. Safe Kids is an international nonprofit organization working to help families and communities keep kids safe from preventable injuries. Safe Kids Orange County, the local coalition chapter, works with a network of partners to reduce traffic injuries, drownings, falls, burns, and poisonings. Representatives include several local Fire Departments, local law enforcement, public health, Orange County Department of Social Services, Orange County Public Schools, Orange County Emergency Services Head Start, Habitat for Humanity, and other child-focused community organizations. They organize events throughout the year to address child safety concerns including Fire Safety.

“During our recent home safety presentation to Orange County Head Start parents, the fire marshal’s office did a presentation on using a fire extinguisher; and it was then we found out that none of the 20 parents who attended the class owned one,” Bailey explained.  “We realized there was a big gap that we wanted to help fill. When Marisa reached out to me around the same time, I realized this was an important issue not just for the parents associated with Safe Kids but also others in the community in need such as the Habitat homeowners.”

In her other role, Bailey is the Injury Prevention Coordinator for the UNC Health Care Trauma Program, where she works on projects with Dr. Earnest Grant, RN, MSN, FAAN. Dr. Grant is the Program Manager for Outreach and Education at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Health Care, one of the largest and most comprehensive burn centers in the world with a 36-bed facility for adult and pediatric care. Through its education and outreach programs, the Burn Center works diligently to improve the quality of emergency burn treatment across the state. “I reached out to Dr. Grant to see if he knew of a grant or resource that would allow us to provide fire extinguishers to families in the community,” said Anna.

“In 2017 we were awarded a FEMA Fire Grant that we used to teach the community fire and burn safety,” explains Dr. Ernest Grant.  “When Anna reached out to me for suggestions, we thought it was a fortuitous opportunity to use the funds to purchase fire extinguishers for members of the community willing to attending fire safety classes.”

The FEMA Fire Grant allowed The Jaycee Burn Center to purchase 350 fire extinguishers which they donated to the North Carolina Community. Some of the fire extinguishers were distributed to the each of the participants that attended the fire safety classes in Efland and Chapel Hill as well as to the parents who attended the Safe Kids class. The remaining fire extinguishers will be distributed at community events and will be kept at the Fire Marshal’s office to be distributed during Habitat’s new home dedications and home inspections when needed.  “The burn center has a philosophy – the best way to treat a burn is to prevent it from happening. We feel that the donation to these families has the power to do just that,” said Dr. Grant.

Parents, pet owners need to prepare for interactions between children, dogs

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Dogs are often times a much loved and trusted part of families, but some dogs have a history of aggressive behavior, which can be especially concerning when young children are involved.

Pediatric surgeons at UNC Hospitals say they are seeing an increase in the number of life-threatening encounters between dogs and kids.

Last November, the Wells family, from Statesville, was one of them.

The family was visiting friends in Raleigh when Ryder, a toddler just shy of his second birthday, went into the backyard of a home where two Rottweiler dogs were being kept.

Moments later, Brittany Wells looked outside and saw that her son was in trouble.

“I saw him lying, and it was, ‘Oh my God, he’s in trouble,'” Brittany Wells said. “This happened within minutes.”

The dogs attacked Ryder, breaking his arm and doing severe damage to his left eye, nose and jaw.

Ryder was one of nine children treated for severe dog bite injuries last year at UNC Hospitals. That was almost twice as many cases as the hospital saw in 2014.

Of pediatric dog bite patients 10 years and younger, about 68 percent treated from 2010 to 2015 were under five years old.

UNC says it’s cases are still trending up so far in 2016, including one attack that resulted in a death.

“We’re not talking about nips to the arm or the face,” UNC pediatric surgeon Kimberly Erickson said.

Erickson said dog attacks often cause severe tissue injury because dogs drag children, throwing them back and forth in movements that cause major tears and puncture wounds.

Dr. Barbara Sherman, with the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, counsels families on how to manage their pets around children. She says owners must know if their dog has a history of aggression.

“The closer the toddler gets, especially that eye-to-eye contact, dogs find that very threatening,” Sherman said.

Sherman says dogs with a history of aggression should be “carefully managed and separated from any interactions with children.”

Parents should also work to teach children about the risks of interacting with dogs without creating a phobia of them. Other tips include managing the entry ways to the home, places which are the highest risk areas for dogs and kids to interact.

And children should never approach a dog they don’t know, even if it’s on a leash.

Sherman says aggression isn’t limited to a specific breed of dog.

“I think it’s really best to consider that any dog can bite and that we need to apply general rules of safety for children, regardless of the breed,” she said.

Ryder is healing from his injuries, but he will still need several surgeries to repair his jaw and face. For now, he’s using sign language to communicate.

UNC surgeons say they hope his story can help prevent others like it.

“We would love it if we never saw another horrendous dog bite here again,” Erickson said. “That would be our ultimate goal.”