From Knowledge Center
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Injury Free Coalition for Kids of New Haven
From http://www.injuryfree.org/site_display.cfm?PermanentId=2CDCCEB8-188B-3023-EF7ADD7EA264583B
Injury Free Coalition for Kids of New Haven
Yale Trauma Injury Prevention
Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital
The recent tragic deaths of two pedestrians at busy intersections in New Haven, including one on the Yale Medical Campus, greatly increased public awareness of the daily hazards faced by pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Shortly after these deaths, the Yale Pedestrian/Bicycle Safety Group was formed to address these important issues. Spearheaded by a fourth year medical student, the group consists of a broad cross-section of the Yale community. Yale medical students, faculty and staff physicians, Yale-New Haven Hospital administrators, and various leaders from the Trauma Department Injury Prevention program, Office of Environmental Health, School of Public Health and the Law School joined together and meet monthly to discuss ways of making pedestrian, cyclist and vehicular traffic safer in New Haven.
The Yale Pedestrian/Bicycle Safety Group is now collaborating with a diverse number of local, state and national organizations including Yale-New Haven Hospital Protective Services, New Haven Police Department, City of New Haven Board of Aldermen, Elm City Cycling, the New Haven Urban Design League, Design Newhaven, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, America Walks and Keep Kids Alive-Drive 25 to discuss ways to turn these terrible losses into a positive opportunity to improve the safety of the roadways in the region. Together these groups have formed the New Haven Safe Streets Coalition. Its mission is twofold: (1) to raise awareness of traffic safety issues and (2) to build community support for an urgent and comprehensive strategy that will reduce the unacceptable number of traffic-related injuries and fatalities in New Haven by 50% by 2009 and 90% by 2015. The Coalition also hopes to promote safer, walk-able and economically vibrant streets for all road users.
Prior to the recent tragedy, a number of successful initiatives had been undertaken to help improve child safety. The following are examples of programs that have been implemented to support our safety initiative: a car seat installation clinic led by a certified child passenger safety technician was instituted; a program targeting economically disadvantaged patients and families of Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital to receive child passenger safety seats (who otherwise can not afford them) and instruction on their use; replacement and installation of child passenger seats that are damaged in moderate or major motor vehicle crashes; educational offerings to hospital staff members, patients and families and the community at large, on proper child passenger safety practices and bicycle safety checks provided by local bike shop technicians as well as bicycle helmet distribution and fitting provided by the YNHH Trauma Centers. More broadly, we are taking a comprehensive look at all forms of pedestrian safety including the increase use of motorized scooters and the recent spectator fatalities associated with illegal drag racing. Our vision is that these initiatives complement each other and support the coalition’s mission to improve street safety for individual children, families and for our entire city.
Contact Info
Giuseppina (Pina) Violano, MSPH, RN-BC,CCRN
Injury Prevention Coordinator
Yale-New Haven Hospital
Injury Free Coalition for Kids of New Haven
59 York Street
New Haven, Connecticut 06510
phone: 203-688-3260
email: violano@ynhh.org
| Coordinates | 41° 18' 26" N, 72° 55' 43" W + |
| Description | Advocacy organization |
| Sector | Public Safety + |
| Title | Injury Free Coalition for Kids of New Haven + |
| Topic | Health Equity Alliance +, and Traffic Safety + |
