PHH offering bicycle helmet safety event at Benzinger Park
ST. MARYS - In the event of an accident, the proper fit of a bicycle helmet could make the difference in whether or not a child will need to be seen at an emergency room.
May is National Bicycle Safety Month and to mark the occasion, Penn Highlands Healthcare will be holding a bicycle helmet safety event at Benzinger Park in St. Marys on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. as part of the Dickinson Center’s Community Helpers Day.
Members of the Penn Highlands DuBois Trauma Team will be educating participants on the importance of wearing bicycle helmets as well as the proper fitting of helmets.
The event is free to Elk County families with children age five and under.
However according to Penn Highlands DuBois Trauma, Outreach and Injury Prevention Coordinator, Kara Bauer, RN, families with older children are also encouraged to come to event.
“In 2019, nationally, 122,000 children visited an emergency room for non-fatal bicycle injuries,” Bauer said. “And unfortunately, 96 children were fatally injured while riding a bike in 2019 and that’s 96 too many.” a
She explained that while many of these children were wearing a helmet, they weren’t appropriately fitted.
At the safety event, the trauma team will be teaching parents how to properly fit a helmet so that it is the right helmet for a child’s head.
“It’s really important that when you’re purchasing a helmet that you purchase it for now and not for a child to grow into,” she said.
During the event, fact sheets about bicycle safety will be distributed to parents and there will be a raffle for a new bicycle helmet.
The event, along with several other Penn Highlands safety events happening in the community, is all part of the pursuit for a Level 2 Trauma Center in DuBois.
“This is part of the requirement of an accredited Level 2 Trauma Center is to get out into the community and talk about injury prevention and how we can help stop some of these injuries that happen,” Bauer said. “Instead of traveling three hours, we’re going to have a trauma center close by.”
She explained that currently Penn Highlands DuBois is only considered trauma services and that the closest trauma center to Elk County is in Altoona. Penn Highlands hopes to hear about whether they received accreditation for the trauma center by the end of August.
“Having spent my nursing career in emergency departments at Penn Highlands DuBois and Penn Highlands Elk, I’m very passionate about helping to keep our communities safe from traumatic injuries,” she said.
Bauer is also available to visit with community groups or organizations that are interested in learning more about injury prevention. She can be contacted at injuryprevention@phhealthcare.org.