Injury Free Coalition for Kids of New Haven
Local News

The size of an entire "future kindergarten class" is dying each year in Connecticut from unsafe sleep practices, according to state Child Advocate Sarah Eagan. [more]

Shooting victims and their families are now eligible to receive one-time checks worth up to $1,000 apiece?—?thanks to an expanded hospital-led cash transfer program focused on supporting targets of interpersonal abuse while disrupting a broader cycle of social violence. [more]

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New guidelines released by the American Academy of Pediatrics in June drive home the importance of safe sleep practices for babies. In Connecticut, unsafe sleep is the leading cause of preventable infant death. [more]

https://www.ynhhs.org/articles/car-seat-safety-tips/baby-items-that-are-safe-to-get-used [more]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/officers-son-12-accidentally-shoots-mom-dead-a-cautionary-tale/ar-AA10wCQx?cvid=af09e100304941048f0dc28e2e7ee917#image=1 [more]

https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/gun-violence-is-a-public-health-crisisbut-hospital-based-invention-programs-can-help-break-the-cycle/ [more]

How help for gunshot victims is expanding as Connecticut shootings rise. [more]

Researchers in Australia say they have found a possible cause for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). If their research holds up, this would be big news for the countless families who lose a child to the syndrome each year. But experts say we shouldn’t be jumping for joy just yet. There is still a long way to go before we’re able to see SIDS as a thing of the past. “It’s a promising step forward,” says Dr. Kirsten Bechtel Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at Yale School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital. “I don’t think this is ready to roll out tomorrow.” [more]

Drs. Leslie Sude from Yale Medicine and Kirsten Bechtel from Injury Free New Haven speak about a study just published that examines a link between enzyme levels in the brain and risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). [more]

Dr. Kirsten Bechtel from the Injury Free Coalition for Kids-New Haven discusses the considerations for parents as to the purchase of an electric scooter for their children in the article on Fatherly.com [more]

In this article on Fatherly.com, Drs. Maneesha Agarwal from IFCK-Atlanta and Kirsten Bechtel from IFCK-New Haven discuss how parents can safely ride a bike with their children in tow. [more]

In October of 2020, a stark public health warning was released by a Connecticut public health clearinghouse: youth suicides were on the rise in Connecticut and we had to act fast. Even before this recent surge, suicide was the second leading cause of death in adolescents in the United States. Compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, remote learning, social isolation, civil unrest and the economic impacts of the pandemic, our kids’ lives had been totally uprooted and many of them are struggling. In October alone, four young teens in our state died by suicide – an extraordinary rise that required immediate action. All these issues will persist into the new year and children locally and nationally need our continued support more than ever as their lives continue to change in new and unexpected ways. Here are some ways we can help and support our kids as we continue to work through the pandemic and other challenges. In this article, site PI Dr. Kirsten Bechtel, along with her colleague Dr. Michael Bloch, a child psychiatrist, speak to the role of family and community members in looking out for children who may be suicidal due to the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic. [more]

Every October, after school starts—and each May, as it ends—there is a spike in the number of teenagers who go to the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital (YNHCH) emergency department because they are thinking about attempting suicide. They may or may not have struggled with a mental health issue before. But they often have a story: Bullies are harassing them, their parents are divorcing, the academic pressure is crushing them. For some, it’s gender concerns—they have come out as trans or non-binary, and their peers are shutting them out. In this article, site PI Dr. Kirsten Bechtel, along with colleagues from Yale, talk about how to help our adolescents who may be suicidal. [more]

As seatbelts, car seats and other auto safety features have become common, the fatality rate for young people from car crashes has dropped significantly over the years. The doctors who treat children and adolescents who have been victims of gunfire, as well as those who work to keep young people safe, want to see a similar decline in deaths and injuries from firearms. [more]