March 11, 2010 - Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Baltimore
Families arriving at the Harriet Lane Clinic for their appointment find a welcoming reception room plus Safety Lane—a safety resource center. Safety Lane builds on and extends the Hopkins model of interactive displays, free expert and tailored advice, and access to low cost safety products.
It is through making creative, critical partnerships and maintaining institutional support that the Johns Hopkins pediatric injury prevention program has grown from one safety center into three. The program now includes the Children’s Safety Center which opened in 1997 in the pediatric hospital, to the mobile CARES Safety Center launched in 2004, and its clinic-based resource center --Safety Lane.
“Injury is the leading cause of death for children in the U.S., and addressing the problem requires a comprehensive approach involving a variety of stakeholders, including health care providers, researchers, community members, and funders.” Eileen McDonald--Program Director, Johns Hopkins Children's Safety Centers.
Safety Lane sits in the lobby of the clinic and its health educator is ready to meet the needs of the families enrolled in the clinic--85% of whom are eligible for medical assistance. From newborn visits through teens, the clinic has implemented universal psychosocial screening that includes assistance with injury prevention. A recent bike helmet project funded by Hopkins Children’s provides free helmets to children who are fitted at Safety Lane. This connection to data collection and community needs forms the basis for documenting impact which is critical for sustaining any injury prevention effort.
Facts about Safety Lane:
Opened in July 2008 Housed in the Harriet Lane Clinic, a pediatric primary care practice which serves as a main training site for pediatric residents at Hopkins Children’s and located in the David M. Rubenstein Child Health Building on the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus Operates through a partnership between the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, which created the model and provides injury prevention expertise and oversight, the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, which provides the space and access to the clinicians and a multidisciplinary staff, and the Johns Hopkins Healthcare, the insurer of most clinic patients, which employs the health educator who staffs the center Hours of operation: Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET
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Contact : Eileen McDonald: 410/614-0225
