"Play It Safe" with North Oaks Medical Center September 30
- Category: In The News
- Posted On:
- Written By: Melanie Zaffuto
Make plans to attend the North Oaks Medical Center Level II Trauma Center’s 3rd annual “Play It Safe” event with your family Saturday, Sept. 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The free, interactive safety event will be held at Cate Square Park in Historic Downtown Hammond.
Play It Safe’s goal is to increase safety awareness among families with children, age 12 and younger, through fun-filled educational demonstrations and activities.
“Our goal is to help prevent unintentional injuries and deaths among children,” explains Ashley Miller, event organizer and North Oaks market strategist/business development representative.
Each year in the U.S., more than 2,200 children – or six children a day – die at home from unintentional injuries, and more than 3.5 million more children go to emergency rooms for the kinds of injuries that commonly happen in homes, according to Safe Kids Worldwide.
These statistics hit close to home for Dr. Marquinn Duke, trauma program medical director for North Oaks. “We treat thousands of children who suffer from injuries that could have been prevented in any given year,” Duke affirms.
Play It Safe zones will focus on areas and activities where injuries are most likely to occur. A “home zone” will offer prevention activities focused on food, fire and home hazards. An “outdoors and sports zone” will promote proper shoe fit, as well as basic sports, hunting, fishing and exploring safety. The “wheels zone” will offer car seat, seat belt and all-terrain vehicle safety demos, and certified child passenger safety technicians will be on hand to book one-on-one car seat safety check appointments for anyone interested at a later date. A bicycle course and bicycle helmet giveaway will anchor the wheel zone. The helmets will be fitted and provided free of charge to the first 300 children, ages 2-12, pre-registered here. Pre-registration is not required to attend the event, however.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, wearing bike helmets reduces head injuries by 85 percent and brain injuries by 88 percent.
For more information, call North Oaks Public Relations at (985) 230-6647.
