Rainbow Injury Prevention Center http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:13:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en hourly 1 Use It or Lose It Finalists - House of Blues http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/1016 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/1016#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:00:40 +0000 Nick Schiltz http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/?p=1016 Finalists in the Use It or Lose It High School Seat Belt Challenge performed on stage and displayed their works of art at the House of Blues in downtown Cleveland on May 19, 2009.  The event was part of the local Click It or Ticket campaign kick-off.  Representatives from each participating school was in attendance for the conclusion of the school competition for highest and most improved belt use rate.  The results were:

School Competition:

  • Most improved seat belt use rate:  Bedford High School
  • Highest seat belt use rate:  Broadview-Heights High School

Song Contest:

Video Contest:

  • 1st Place: Bedford High School
  • 2nd Place: Orange High School
  • 3rd Place: Garfield High School
  • Runner-up:  Mayfield High School

Poster Contest:

  • 1st Place: Steven Molnar, Mayfield
  • 2nd Place: Kaitlyn Wagner, Mayfield
  • 3rd Place: Jesse Huettner, Orange
  • Runner-up: Tim Bravlasky, Mayfield


What is the Use It or Lose It high school challenge?

With the support of a grant from Kohl’s Cares for Kids, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital has designed Use It or Lose It to increase teens’ seat belt use in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.  Schools compete in raising safety belt use rates and designing peer messaging, with the chance to win money for your school and cool prizes for students.  In building school spirit around the call for buckling up, Use It or Lose It capitalizes on the fact that the majority of teens do buckle up regularly and puts social pressure on those who do not.


In addition to the competition for highest belt use, classes or individual students in participating schools also can choose to enter any or all of the three creative messaging contests:  creating a public service announcement, song/rap, or billboard art that promotes teen seat belt use and responsible driving.


]]> http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/1016/feed Pause to Click at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/986 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/986#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:04:49 +0000 Nick Schiltz http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/?p=986 This year’s Pause to Click contest finale was a smashing success, thanks to the talented work of area sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.  Fifteen finalists were chosen to present their work on stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on June 6, 2009.  Finalists were evaluated based on performance, message, and originality by a panel of judges and the final results were:


Song:

Video:

Art:


Gallery:

]]> http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/986/feed Rainbow Safety Store is Open for Business! http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/976 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/976#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:00:00 +0000 Nick Schiltz http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/?p=976 Keeping your child safe is priceless!   The Rainbow Safety Store Can Help

The Rainbow Safety Store is officially open for business!  Located at the atrium entrance to Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, the Safety Store offers a wide range of safety products, including baby proofing items, car seats, booster seats, carbon monoxide detectors, smoke detectors, personal safety items like medical alert IDs, special needs products like wheelchair ponchos and evacuation mats, and sports safety items like bike and ski helmets. All items are sold at cost, well below retail prices.

The Safety Store is run by the Rainbow Injury Prevention Center.  Stop by the Safety Store to view items in the display case and read descriptions in the product selection book, then order by phoning 42277 and choosing option 2 for the Safety Store.  Follow the posted directions to pay for your items, and you’ll be contacted by a Safety Store staff member to arrange delivery of your order.  The Safety Store provides a convenient opportunity for staff, patient families, and hospital visitors to get a wide range of safety products at great prices!

]]> http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/976/feed Home Safety 101: Safety on a Budget http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/970 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/970#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:00:44 +0000 Nick Schiltz http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/?p=970 An important part of raising kids is careful supervision of their activities in the home, where they spend most of their time.  Be aware of your children’s surroundings at all times in order to prevent serious injuries.

Safety on a Budget

In these tough economic times it may seem even more difficult to think about what’s necessary to keep your family safe.  Here’s the good news: Keeping your children safe doesn’t have to be expensive.

There are plenty of free things you can do and low-cost safety devices that can help make your home safer, without breaking your budget.  Consider the following tips to help you get started:

  • Keep an eye on your children at all times.  This is the best way to keep children safe, and it doesn’t cost a penny!
  • Keep poisonous items, such as medicines and cleaners, locked away and out of reach of children.
  • Don’t let children play on stairs, furniture, balconies, roofs, or in driveways, streets or parking lots.
  • Practice an escape plan with your family in case of a fire or other disaster.
  • Cook on back burners and keep handles facing away from the front of the stove so curious children can’t pull hot contents down on themselves.
  • Keep bathroom doors closed with a hook-and-eye latch above a child’s reach to keep kids away from hazards in the bathroom.
  • Tape up any loose rugs firmly to the floor/carpet to avoid slips and slides of running toddlers.

We all know that nothing replaces active supervision, but the right safety devices can go a long way in helping to protect children.  Be a savvy shopper with these low-cost investments, and remember, a higher price does not mean the device is safer or easier to use.

  • Outlet plugs (average $2 in stores)
  • Cabinet/drawer locks ($4)
  • Window stop ($5)
  • Furniture strap/bracket ($5)
  • Smoke alarm ($10)
  • Carbon monoxide alarm ($20)
  • Window guard ($30)
  • Safety gate ($40)
]]> http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/970/feed Pause to Click Finalists to Perform at Rock Hall http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/964 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/964#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:53:00 +0000 Nick Schiltz http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/?p=964 CLEVELAND (June 2, 2009) – Fifteen local sixth, seventh and eighth graders will take the Plaza Lobby stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, to perform songs, screen videos, and present posters to encourage their peers to buckle-up safely in the backseat. An enthusiastic crowd of parents, teachers, friends and passers-by will cheer on the talented kids as they share their creative safety messages for a chance to be a star in Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital’s Pause to Click seat belt safety contest, sponsored by Kohl’s.

Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for preteens—and all Americans from the age of 5 to 35—but only 14% of children aged 11 to 14 killed in motor vehicle crashes in Ohio during 2008 were riding restrained. “Motor vehicle safety campaigns tend to focus on infants and toddlers or on teens, leaving out all the kids in between. With the generous support of Kohl’s, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital filled that gap with this program to remind sixth, seventh, and eighth graders that as they get older they have greater responsibility for their own passenger safety and should make buckling up part of the routine every time they get in a car,” explains Kathryn Wesolowski, Program Manager of the Rainbow Injury Prevention Center.

Grand prize winners in each of the three categories will receive star treatment, including a limo ride to Lava Room Recording Studios, where they will get help polishing their entries for the public. First place winners will win $500 and make their big debut: the winning song will play on 96.5 KISS-FM, the winning video/PSA will air on Nickelodeon and other cable networks, and the winning poster will be displayed on billboards. Second and third place winners in each category will win $250 and $100, respectively. Grand prize winners’ schools will receive a $500 prize.

Go to http://www.pausetoclick.com or contact the Rainbow Injury Prevention Center at 216.983.1110 for more information.

]]> http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/964/feed Click It or Ticket at the School Days event at Cleveland Lakefront State Park http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/950 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/950#comments Thu, 21 May 2009 13:06:04 +0000 Nick Schiltz http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/?p=950  On May 20, more than 1,000 Cuyahoga County elementary school children learned about occupant protection at the Click It or Ticket booth staffed by the Safe Communities Street Team at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.  The focus of the booth was a demonstration using the rollover Convincer – the cab of a truck mounted on a frame that can be rolled over using a lever. Dummies are put into the truck cab both buckled and unbuckled. When the cab is rolled over as in a crash, the buckled dummies stay in their seats while the unbuckled dummies move around the cab and eventually are thrown out of the vehicle. The demonstration was used to show students the importance of wearing safety belts and to remind them to sit in the back seat till the age of thirteen.

]]> http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/950/feed Upcoming Car Seat Checks - Summer 2009 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/943 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/943#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:45:34 +0000 Nick Schiltz http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/?p=943 Saturday, May 2 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Babies R Us, North Olmsted, 26520 Lorain Road

Saturday, June 6 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Babies R Us, Mentor, 7841 Mentor Ave

Friday, June 12 from Noon – 4:00 pm
Pat O’Brien Chevrolet in Willoughby Hills, 2810 Bishop Road

Saturday, June 20 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Babies R Us, Eastgate, Mayfield Hts., 1385 SOM Center

Saturday, July 11 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Babies R Us, Aurora, 7055 Market Place D

]]> http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/943/feed Motorcycle Safety - Make Yourself Conspicuous http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/930 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/930#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:37:14 +0000 Nick Schiltz http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/?p=930 Content of this page courtesy of High-Viz.org

Why Go High-Viz?

mcycle3Ask any rider, and they will probably tell you their biggest safety concern is being cut off, run over, or otherwise violated by another driver in traffic. It’s a constant, serious threat.

However, as a rider, you can take control of the situation by making yourself as highly visible (conspicuous) as possible. Doing so will reduce the number of surprises you face every day and help you avoid getting blindsided by someone else’s last-minute decision.

Introduction

Most riders would agree that their goal is to enjoy their bikes and make it home safely. Being high-viz will make that job easier. About half of all motorcycle crashes involve a collision with another vehicle. In many crashes, the driver never saw the motorcyclist - or didn’t see him or her until it was too late. There are many reasons why other drivers do not see motorcyclists.

  • Most car drivers aren’t familiar with motorcycles, so they don’t think to look for them in traffic.
  • Motorcycle riders typically wear dark colors and can easily blend into the background and “disappear.”
  • Motorcycles are smaller than other vehicles, so they are more difficult to spot in traffic and can be hidden by other vehicles or roadside features.
  • Daytime headlight use does not give motorcycle riders much of an advantage anymore, due to the widespread use of daytime running lights on cars.
  • The smaller size and single headlight on the motorcycle makes it more difficult for other drivers to judge a rider’s speed and distance.

As a rider, the burden is unfortunately on you to do something about being visible. We expect other drivers to watch out for motorcycles in traffic, but because motorcycle riders are so vulnerable, they have the responsibility to make themselves as visible as possible. In a multi-vehicle crash, it’s the rider’s life-and-limb at stake, so it’s the rider who must make the extra effort to stand out in traffic.

Fortunately, making yourself “high-viz” is relatively easy. There are lots of ways to make yourself conspicous in traffic. Conspicuity is the ability of an object to draw attention to itself, even if nobody’s actively searching for it. Rider conspicuity, therefore, is the ability of a motorcyclist to draw attention to him- or herself, even though other drivers may not be actively looking for them.

Top 10 High-Viz Tips

These 10 strategies will be most effective at helping you get noticed by other drivers.

  1. 1. Fluorescent/Reflective Safety Vest
  2. 2. White Helmet
  3. 3. Brightly Colored Jacket
  4. 4. Strategic Lane Positioning
  5. 5. Headlight Modulation
  6. 6. Flash Your Taillight
  7. 7. Reflective Tape
  8. 8. Movement
  9. 9. Auxiliary Driving Lights
  10. 10. Hand Signals

Additional Resources

  • HighViz.org - This site offered through the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Center has plenty of information and tips on how to make yourself more visible. Quiz yourself to see how visible you are, and what you can do to improve your safety.
  • Motorcycle Ohio - Motorcycle Ohio offers training to both novice and experienced riders at a very low cost. Students will get some in-class training and hands on experience. The site also has plenty of great information.
  • Motorcycle Safety Foundation - Information on motorcycle safety. They also offer basic rider training at over 1500 locations nationwide. Over 400,000 riders went through their course last year.
  • ForCarDrivers.com - Another site by the MSF geared toward non-motorcyclists.
]]> http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/930/feed Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month - May 2009 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/809 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/809#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:00:21 +0000 Nick Schiltz http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/?p=809 Motorcycle fatalities represent approximately five percent of all highway fatalities each year, yet motorcycles represent just two percent of all registered vehicles in the United States. One of the main reasons motorcyclists are killed in crashes is because the motorcycle itself provides virtually no protection in a crash. For example, approximately 80 percent of reported motor- cycle crashes result in injury or death; a comparable figure for automobiles is about 20 percent.

Knowing proper safety practices while operating a motorcycle will make motorcycling safer and more enjoyable for the driver as well as other motorists sharing the road.
Click the link below to order motorcycle safety posters that can be posted in local establishments within your city. Help spread the important message of motorcycle safety!

motorcycle safety poster request form

]]> http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/809/feed Safety Jamboree - Safe Kids Week http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/671 http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/posts/671#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:58:15 +0000 Nick Schiltz http://www.injurypreventioncenter.com/?p=671 To celebrate National Safe Kids Week (April 26 - May 3, 2009), the Safe Kids Greater Cleveland Coaltion is planning a family-friendly interactive safety day addressing a broad spectrum of summer safety issues.  Details of the Safety Jamboree are given below:

What: Safety Jamboree - a kid-friendly safety fair
Where: Children’s Museum of Cleveland
When:  Sunday, April 26, 2009
Time:  10 am - 2 pm

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We are seeking members who can help us that day by staffing and conducting HANDS-ON activities designed to teach bicycle safety, water safety, poison prevention and other topics. Kids can “win” the challenge by completing all the activities and earn a prize.

To reserve a table or volunteer contact Nikesha Yarbrough at (216) 983-1119 or at nikesha.yarbrough@uhhospitals.org

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