BrennerChildren’s Hospital, the pediatric arm of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, along with Safe Kids Northwest Piedmont, Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma and other community partners will hold Safe Kids Day and the 10th annual Bike Safety Day, Saturday, May 13 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Kaleideum Downtown (formerly Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem).
Hands-on water, fire, pedestrian, child passenger, home and bicycle safety education will be provided for children and their families.
Around 800 children suffering from traumatic injuries and burns were admitted last year to Brenner Children’s, the only Level I pediatric trauma center in our region and one of only three in the state.
According to the Childress Institute, trauma kills nearly 10,000 children each year in the United States, more than all other causes combined.
“Teaching children and their parents and caregivers ways to stay safe is a crucial part of what we do,” said Ginger Wilkins, pediatric trauma coordinator at Brenner Children’s. “Even though our doctors and nurses are ready to care for critically injured children around the clock, we hope events such as this will help prevent a child from suffering a traumatic injury that could have been easily avoided.”
A recent report from Safe Kids Worldwide and Nationwide’s Make Safe Happen program, found that nearly 40 percent of parents surveyed admitted that their child doesn’t always wear a helmet while riding a bicycle, skateboard or other self-propelled wheeled toy, even though more than 426,000 children – nearly 50 every hour – visited an emergency department in 2015 due to a wheeled sports-related injury.
As part of the 10th annual Bike Safety Day, children are also invited to bring their bicycles and helmets to an outdoor bike rodeo with the Winston-Salem Police Department’s Downtown Bike Patrol Unit.
The event is free. Museum admission is not included.
Media Relations
Eryn Johnson: eryjohns@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-8228
Mac Ingraham: mingraha@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-3487