As the Level I Trauma Center for southern Broward County, Memorial Regional Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Childrens Hospital pride themselves on providing trauma victims the most advanced care available. Both facilities are on the cutting edge of the most recent technology and treatment available to trauma patients. They also provide a wide range of community education programs to help prevent trauma injuries.
Members of the Memorial Regional Hospital Trauma Team on location at “Prom Promise,” a program for high school students to increase awareness about the dangers of drunk driving.
An important component of the hospitals range of care for trauma patients is rehabilitation. Memorials Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department continues to be progressive and innovative in providing services, including occupational, speech, physical, psychological and recreational therapy. Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, Memorial offers an adult inpatient unit, a pediatric rehabilitation facility as well as outpatient treatment/services.
Not only are Memorial Regional Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Childrens Hospitals trauma centers recognized as leaders in providing care to the critically injured, but also they show a strong commitment to the community in many ways. Both hospitals conduct injury prevention activities throughout the year. In the last year, both trauma centers have published several book chapters, articles, and presented abstracts at national conferences.
Some of the community programs include:
Trauma Awareness Day – an annual safety event held every May (National Trauma Awareness Month) to promote awareness of trauma and injury prevention.
Injury Prevention: Alcohol Misuse Brief Intervention – a screening process initiated by the trauma team and applied when a patient presents with an elevated alcohol level.
Injury Prevention: C.A.R.G.O. (Communities Addressing Responsible Gun Ownership) a community project involving various state/local agencies such as the State District Attorneys Office; Broward Sheriffs Office; Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms; and the North and South Broward Hospital District division of trauma services. This program is geared for the middle and high school populations, as well as, after school programs, outpatient drug programs and intervention programs.
Injury Prevention: Playing It Safe with Troo – a safety program geared for the elementary school population. The Joe DiMaggio trauma center brings a life-sized “Troo – The Trauma Kangaroo”, along with the American College of Surgeons educational information and video, into the elementary classroom to provide children with safe behaviors and/or play.
Injury Prevention: Risky Behaviors – a program designed for the middle and high school populations to increase awareness of poor choices resulting from drinking and drug usage.
Injury Prevention: Safe Kids Worldwide – the first and only international nonprofit organization dedicated solely to preventing unintentional childhood injury. It focuses on one specific problem: more children 1 to 14 die from accidents such as motor vehicle crashes, fires, drowning, poisoning and falls than any other cause.
Injury Prevention: Seniors Learning Injury Prevention Strategies (S.L.I.P.S.) – an educational program targeting seniors over the age of 65. The program consists of four parts: normal aging process, fall/home safety, pedestrian/bike safety and motor vehicle safety.
Injury Prevention: Street Racers – a community program geared toward the high-school students in an effort to decrease the episodes of drag racing and/or speeding among the adolescent population.
Injury Prevention: Tough Trauma Talk – a safety-related program for schools and other interested groups. Tough Trauma Talk stresses several areas of injury prevention, including seat belt usage, appropriate care seat usage, air bag information, bike safety and helmet use, pedestrian safety, water safety, drinking and driving, and handgun and violence safety issues.
Injury Prevention Walk Safe Program – a statewide program geared to educate the elementary population regarding pedestrian safety.
Community health fairs the hospitals provide injury prevention literature, including coloring books on bike safety, safety reflectors, violence, seat belts, pedestrian safety, and impaired driving are available.
