October 28, 2021 - Injury Free Coalition for Kids National Office
(New York, NY) From the east coast to the west coast and in 25 major cities in between, there is a commitment to shining a green light on November 18th to join injury prevention advocates and physicians pushing to raise awareness about the need for injury and violence prevention. They are the number one killer of people from age one to 44 and many of those deaths are preventable with the use of safety practices, products, and the implementation of strong legislative policies. That is why the country’s top Injury and Violence Prevention Organizations are joining forces Thursday November 18, 2021, for the second annual National Injury Prevention Day.
The Injury Free Coalition for Kids®, Safe Kids Worldwide, Safe States Alliance, the American Trauma Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, BeSMART a division of Everytown for Gun Safety, the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research, the Trauma Center of America Association and JPMA Cares of the Juvenile Products and Manufacturers Association are coming together to raise awareness about the burden of injuries and violence.
“Whether it be at home, on the road or at play people need to take precautions,” said Barbara Barlow, MD, the Founder and Director of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids. “Children are needlessly dying. Every day, 20 children die from preventable injuries, resulting in more deaths than all diseases combined, and this has to change.”
Toward that end on November 18th trauma centers and community advocates across the country will work together to educate families and community leaders about ways to develop safer environments and they will equip many of them with the tools necessary to do so. In addition, local and state government representatives will be asked to acknowledge the concerns and efforts to address them. At 1:00 p.m. Eastern everyone is invited to take part in a live national conversation about the country’s top injury and violence concerns during a one-hour twitter chat using the hashtag: #BeInjuryFree. And then when the sun goes down on the 18th, hospitals, landmarks, businesses, monuments, neighborhoods, and government offices are being asked to shine a green light to raise awareness about the need the need for change.
Among the places lighting the way toward change are the Hemsley Building on Park Avenue in New York, the Johns Hopkins and City of Baltimore Domes, stadiums that serve as homes to the Baltimore Ravens and the Minnesota Vikings, The John Hancock Building in Chicago, and bridges in Arkansas, Houston and Rochester. A number of cities will focus on a specific preventable injury on the 18th: San Diego will address bike safety, Kansas City will address firearm and home safety, Nashville will look at sleep safety, Peoria will address child passenger safety and Boston will cover a variety of injury prevention topics including CPS, concussion and youth violence prevention during a day long conference. To learn more about what’s being done in other cities across the country go to www.injuryfree.org.
For more information about National Injury Prevention Day or to arrange an interview in advance, please contact E. Lenita Johnson 816-651-7777 or e-mail Estelljohnson@sbcglobal.net.
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The Injury Free Coalition for Kids is a part of the outreach arm of the ICRC located in the Columbia University Center for Injury Science and Prevention.
Contact:
E. Lenita Johnson
816-651-7777
estelljohnson@sbcglobal.net
