Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma Celebrates Five Years of Saving the Lives of Injured Kids
Winston-Salem, NC (PRWEB) July 30, 2013 -- The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma celebrated its fifth anniversary with a visit by NASCAR team owner Richard Childress to Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis, Ind. on July 25. Childress and his wife Judy established the Institute in 2008 to help save the lives of injured children across the U.S. by supporting research, education and awareness.
“When Judy and I learned that critical injury was responsible for the death of more children in the U.S. than all other causes combined and how little attention this crisis was receiving nationally, we knew those kids needed a champion,” said Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing and co-founder of the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma. “The more awareness and support we raise, the more lives we will save.”
Since its inception, the Childress Institute has made significant strides in improving the treatment of injured children in the U.S. An encouraging sign is the decrease of national childhood deaths from 2005 to 2010 from 12,388 to 9,523*. To learn more about pediatric trauma, visit http://www.InjuredKids.org.
“The Childress Institute is proud of the role we have played to increase awareness of pediatric trauma and to advocate for better medical treatment for these kids, not just in our own backyard but in every community in the country,” said Dr. J. Wayne Meredith, the Institute’s executive director and chair of general surgery and director of the division of surgical sciences at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Recent milestones include:
- Partnered with the Pediatric Trauma Society (PTS) to co-host a national pediatric trauma conference to begin work on a 10-year plan for advancing research, treatment and education
- Funded nearly $500,000 of research to improve the assessment and treatment of injured children, including the KIDS study to examine youth football head impacts
- Engaged national leaders in pediatric trauma clinical care to host web symposiums that taught innovative treatments and procedures for injured children to health care professionals around the world
- Invested more than $250,000 in the past two years to fund training courses for first responders, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals
The Childress Institute’s goal is to lead national efforts to reduce death and disability following injury to children less than 18 years of age. It is dedicated to improving outcomes for critically-injured children across the U.S. by investing resources in research, education and awareness. The Institute helps injured kids get the best care, when they need it the most.
Find the Childress Institute on Twitter @injuredkids and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ChildressPediatricTrauma.
About the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma
Life-threatening injury is the No. 1 killer of kids in America. Nearly 10,000 children die each year - more than all other causes combined. The Childress Institute invests resources in research, education and awareness to improve the treatment for critically injured children in the U.S. The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma was founded at and receives considerable support from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The Institute was established through the generosity of Richard and Judy Childress. For more information, please visit http://www.InjuredKids.org.
Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health
Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health is the only American College of Surgeon’s verified Level I pediatric trauma center in the state of Indiana and is the only nationally ranked children’s hospital in Indiana. For more information, please visit [http://www.iuhealth.org/riley.
*The numbers provided are according to statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The statistics from 2005 were the most recent numbers available for deaths from serious injuries in children aged 1-18 when the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma was launched on July 30, 2008. The statistics from 2010 are the most current numbers available at the issue of this release, therefore demonstrating the change in deaths over a five year period.
For additional information, contact:
Kara Thompson
Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma
(336) 491-9766
kathomps(at)wakehealth(dot)edu
Kara Thompson, Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma, http://www.InjuredKids.org, +1 336-713-1625, [email protected]
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