Burn Prevention - Coalition to prevent Iron burns

Working cooperatively with the Burn Trauma unit at Strong Memorial Hospital, The Rochester Fire Department, and the School of Engineering at The University of Rochester, we were able to develop a pamphlet to warn parents of the dangers of clothing iron burns.

Clothing Iron Burns Safety Pamphlet

Habitat for Humanity

Flower City Habitat for Humanity has been helping to eliminate substandard and poverty housing in Rochester, New York since 1984. From 2003 to 2007, IFCK of Rochester teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to provide safer homes for many of Rochester’s families. Injury Free Rochester worked with new homeowners to individually “child-proof” their home. Several homes were visited each month. These visits were well received and through our efforts identified that the newer habitat homes are built with separate temperature gauges for the house and shower, so in turn, homeowners were turning their hot water tank up too high to compensate for the cold water in the shower. IFCK was able to inform the homeowners of how to keep their water at a safe temperature to prevent scald burns. Our efforts increase the safety in homes and parents awareness of safety issues.

Pediatric Links in the Community

In 2005, with a grant from Pediatric Links in the Community, we worked with Action for a Better Community (ABC) to provide home safety kits and safety information to 250 local families. Training was provided to family outreach workers (ORW) that improved their knowledge and ability to educate the community. The ORW would go out into the community and distribute the safety information and equipment. The purpose was to increase safety awareness in the home. ABC has been a member of the coalition since its inception and their help in empowering the neighborhood with the knowledge to keep children safe, improves the quality of life for everyone. We were able to reach many in the community through this collaboration.

Safe Crib and Car Seat Project

Children are at the greatest risk of injury related morbidity and mortality particularly in the inner city setting. From 2006 to 2009, we addressed this problem by visiting the homes of low-income, new mothers who were selected through the safe crib and car seat project. IFCK provided “home safety walk-throughs” walking through each home and providing information on ways to make their home safe from injury and providing them with any needed equipment such as cabinet locks and thermometers to check water temperature. By working directly with each family in a one on one intervention, we empowered families to improve their home environment and to prevent or minimize injuries in the home. The Safe Crib and Car Seat Project is composed of local consumer advocates and community organizations that carefully screen and identify local families who need a safe crib and provide them free of charge. When the cribs were distributed, we recruited willing participants who allowed us to help them provide a safer home. We also encouraged these women to share the information we provided with those who attended to their children, creating a network of people interested in the common goal of safety.

Rochester Parent Network

The local cable network runs a parent show to educated parents on all topics with regards to raising children from birth to age 5. The IFCK staff videotaped safety tips that are aired on the Parent Talk show.