Rainbow Injury Prevention Center

Walking School Bus

Interested in learning more about having a Walking School Bus in your community? The Ohio Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Program is offering Walking School Bus Training. In this training, you will learn what a walking school bus is, why does your community needs one, how to set up a program and other resources.

Description:A walking school bus or bicycle train both consist of groups of students accompanied by adults that walk or bicycle a pre-planned route to school. Routes can originate from a particular neighborhood or, in order to include children who live too far to walk or bicycle, begin from a parking lot. They may operate daily, weekly or monthly. Often, they are started in order to address parents’ concerns about traffic and personal safety while providing a chance for parents and children to walk or bicycle to school.

Who should attend? Local agency officials/employees and parents, teachers, public health educators, bicycle clubs, Safe Routes to School coordinators, law enforcement officers, and others who care about increasing the number of children that walk and bicycle to school.

Registration information:Registrations are accepted on first come, first serve basis. There is no cost to attend the training. No meals are provided.

If you are interested in attending the Walking School Bus Training, please click here for more information.

School Safety Contest

ODOT also has a school safety contest for students grades K-8.  The contest is designed to improve walking and biking knowledge. Any Ohio K-8 school child, teacher or school that meets the eligibility requirements is welcome to participate. The contest is from now until April 30, 2012.

How to win: Draw a picture. Invent a computer game. Do a rap! All students have to do is create a project that proves they understand how to be safe when walking or riding bikes to school. Students can make a video, conduct a science experiment, design a poster, publish a magazine, write a cheer, invent a safety device or come up with their own idea. There is NO LIMIT to creativity.

Prizes: Student winners will receive a new TREK bike or running schools. Teachers and school winners will receive a $1,000 reward award. Awards can be used for laptops, white boards other other classroom equipment/materials or school safety equipment as long as it supports school safety education in some way. Plus schools will receive opportunities to attending walking school bus and crossing guard trainings. 36 winners will be awarded from all over Ohio.

To learn more about the school safety contest, click here for the School Safety Contest website. To learn more about the rules, click here for a copy of the contest rules.

ODOT All-Ohio Show Choir

ODOT recruited high school students from around the state to create a safety song and video to help students walk and bike to school more safely. This first-of-its-kind, hip hop-style educational video intertwines dancing with safety demonstrations. To watch the ODOT All-Ohio Show Choir’s “Keep Safe Out the Door”, click here.

Winter Weather Increases Chances of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

As colder weather blankets the country, many are finding their blanket aren’t enough to keep warm. Many are suffering from power outages caused by adverse weather conditions and turning to alternative power sources for heat, such as portable generators and fuel-burning stoves or heaters. Here are some facts to consider when you decide to fire up your generator or stove:

 The most recent estimates show about 190 unintentional non-fire CO poisoning deaths associated with consumer products under CPSC’s jurisdiction, in 2008.

• Sixty percent or 114 of those deaths occurred during the colder months of November, December, January and February as people turned on furnaces, used generators during power outages or used fuel-burning space heaters more often than in other months.
• Generators have been associated with the most non-fire CO poisoning deaths for the years 2005 to 2008, with portable generators associated with 86 deaths in 2008.
• Seven more deaths were associated with the use of at least one other CO-producing product. There were an estimated 8 deaths in 2008 related to charcoal. 

 Find more information about generator safety and CO poisoning prevention at CPSC’s OnSaftey Blog.

 The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also offers these free materials to help your community stay warm but avoid becoming a victim of carbon monoxide poisoning:

 Distribute these one-sided and two-sided door hangers and this poster in your neighborhoods.

 Add this audio PSA to your website, use it on your telephone messaging system or send it to your local radio station.

Safe Kids/Safe Communities Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Westlake Recreation Center

Thank you to our speaker, Kris Fleck! She talked to us about the position of Drug-Free Action Alliance and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Association of Ohio about Marijuana as a medicine.  The Position Paper Kris discussed is enclosed.

2012 Meetings and Locations

•  March 6 – Fatima Family Center, 6600 Lexington Ave, Cleveland
•  May 1 – AAA (Independence)
•  July 10 – Cleveland Metroparks Ranger Department Headquarters
•  September 18 – Recognition Meeting (TBD)
•  November 6 – Parma

CONGRATULATIONS to the BEST Safe Kids Coalition! Safe Kids Greater Cleveland won the Safe Kids USA 2011 Award for Coalition of the Year and Outstanding U.S. Safe Kids Walk this Way Partnership!

Read the Full Article »

University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and Kohl’s Bring Families Together to Resolve to Ride Safely in 2012

Kohl’s Reaches $1 Million Milestone with $215,525 Donation to Support the

Kohl’s Safe Rides for All Kids Program at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital

 
This year, Greater Cleveland parents and children brought in the New Year with the resolution to buckle up every time at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s Noon Year’s Eve event on December 31. Over 5,100 children and parents visited the Kohl’s Safe Rides for All Kids exhibit at the UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital booth in the warmth of the Zoo’s Exhibit Hall for fun games and crafts that focused on staying safe in the New Year. Those who signed the resolution to ride safely received a wrist reminder embossed with this important message.

As part of the festivities, Kohl’s presented a check for $215,525 to support the Kohl’s Safe Rides for All Kids program at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital during Professor Wylde’s Animal Show at 10:30 a.m. in the Zoo’s auditorium. This donation puts Kohl’s over the $1 million mark for gifts to Rainbow.

Greater Cleveland Safe Kids/Safe Communities
Meeting Minutes
November 1, 2011

Old Business 

New Business

Coalition Business

Next meeting is Tuesday, January 10 (location TBD; check the website!)  Thanks to all those who attended the meeting.  A SPECIAL thanks to Euclid Police Department for hosting and providing lunch!

Please join us for the 12th Annual Holiday Mocktail Party and Safe Kids Benefit

                           Date: Wednesday, November 30
                              Time: 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
                        Where: Cleveland Marriott East
                                         26300 Harvard Rd.
                                      Warrensville Heights

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Want to avoid hand cramps from filling out those raffle tickets? Want to save money on your raffle tickets?

Special pre-event ticket sales
$50 for 75 raffle tickets
Only available through Monday, November 28, 2011

Pre-purchase your raffle tickets and we will hae them ready and pre-labeled for you at the registration table! Tickets at the door will be $1.00 a ticket! Take advantage of this great deal!

Complete and return the pre-purchase order form to 216.983.1180 (fax) or Mandy.Thomas@UHhospitals.org

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We need Mocktail Mixers!!

If your agency is interested in “mixing it up” for a good cause, contact Chrystal at chrystal.gullett@uhhospitals.org or 216.983.1108. Fill out the Mocktail Recipe Form to get your recipe in!

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Help us solicit prizes!

 Donate items and baskets for silent auction and Chinese raffle! Help us locate sponsors to help support our coalition’s injury prevention efforts!

Joint effort includes PSA featuring characters from popular animated series for children, kids’ traffic safety pledge, web-based tools for parents 

WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and popular animated series Chuggington today announced a new partnership to teach children how to be safe in and around cars. The nationwide traffic safety campaign is geared specifically towards children from the ages of 2 to 7 and includes a public service announcement featuring characters from the show, a kid-focused safety pledge and downloadable tips and activities for parents and caregivers to use with children.  

“This exciting partnership with Chuggington will help us bring our traffic safety message to young children and parents alike,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Educating children at an early age about the importance of wearing bicycle helmets, looking both ways when crossing the street and buckling up leads to a lifetime of good traffic safety habits.”  

Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death for children, with 1,314 fatalities and 179,000 injuries to those 14 and younger in 2009. In 2007, an estimated 262 fatalities and 115,000 injuries to children 14 and younger occurred from pedestrian incidents involving children playing in or around motor vehicles. The new partnership unveiled today combines NHTSA’s safety guidelines for pedestrians, school buses, bikes and car seat use with Chuggington’s characters to reach parents and children.  

“Chuggington’s characters learn important life lessons in every episode of the show and often earn badges as rewards for appropriate behavior,” said Dick Rothkopf, chairman of Ludorum, the creators of the show. “The ‘Think Safe, Ride Safe, Be Safe!’ traffic safety pledge and badge is based on this concept. We hope that children will be excited to learn the rules of the road while they interact with Chuggington’s characters and earn their ‘official’ Chuggington Traffic Safety badges.”  

Today’s announcement at Harriet Tubman Elementary School coincides with National Child Passenger Safety Week and comes on the heels of a recent survey by Safe Kids USA showing there’s still room for improvement for parents installing child safety seats. Earlier this year, NHTSA released revised guidelines encouraging parents to keep their children in rear-facing child seats as long as possible up to the height and weight specifications of the seat.  

“We already know that child seats save lives and help keep our kids safe, but parents and caregivers need to know how to properly install and use them,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “That’s why, together with our safety partners, we encourage parents to choose the right seat for their child’s size and weight and to have it checked at one of the thousands of free safety seat inspection stations set up across the country for National Seat Check Saturday.” 

More than 30,000 child passenger safety technicians nationwide are participating in Child Passenger Safety Week from September 18 to 24. The week-long effort, which culminates in National Seat Check Saturday on September 24, includes both English- and at many locations – Spanish-speaking technicians who are available to answer questions and help install child safety seats. Parents should follow the federal government’s latest guidelines for selecting the appropriate type of child restraint for children through age 12 and should always read the owner’s manual for installation instructions for their child seat and vehicle.

To access the Chuggington kids pledge and online tools, visit www.chuggington.com/safety.  

To learn more about child seat guidelines or to find a local fitting station, visit www.nhtsa.gov.   

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Greater Cleveland Safe Kids/Safe Communities Coalition
Meeting Minutes
September 20, 2011

Thank you to all members who attended the Greater Cleveland Safe Kids/Safe Communities Member Recognition Lunch! More importantly, THANKS for all you do to help keep our communities safe!
 

Next Meeting:  Tuesday, November 1 from 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. at the Euclid Public Library at 631 East 222^nd Street in Euclid. Lunch will be provided at the end of the meeting.
 

Car Seat Check Weekend

New Booster Seat Campaign – Be a Booster Booster – fill out order form for materials

My Ride My Rules – fill out order form for materials

Volunteers Needed – contact Tracey Stehura (216.983.1110 or tracey.stehura@UHhospitals.org to volunteer)

Fire Prevention Week – fill out an order form

International Walk to School Day – fill out an order form  to request a toolkit.

Halloween Safety

12^th Annual Holiday Mocktail Party