Preventing Brain Injuries One Helmet At A Time

Safe Kids Union County, located at in Mountainside, donated 60 bike helmets and packets of safety information to the Plainfield Salvation Army for distribution at their give-a-way event, “Christmas in July,” on July 25.

Bike helmets reduce the risk of severe brain injury by 88 percent. 

Susan Driscoll, community educator and coordinator of Safe Kids Union County at Children’s Specialized Hospital, urges parents to talk to their children and family members about the importance of wearing a bike helmet from the time they first start riding a tricycle through adulthood. As the children get older and begin to ride in the street and in traffic, the risk of injury increases.

New Jersey law requires everyone under the age of 17 to wear a helmet while bicycling, skateboarding and roller-skating. 

Bicyclists, skateboarders or roller-skaters should wear their helmets with the front two fingers above the eyebrows. When looking up, the bottom rim of the helmet should be visible. The straps should form a “V” under the ears. When riders open their mouths, as wide as they can, their helmets should hug the head or the straps need to be tightened. The helmet should not move around—even if riders shake their heads!

Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside is home to the Union County Chapter of Safe Kids New Jersey. A volunteer at each of the hospital’s nine sites links the hospital with the local Safe Kids chapter or coalition.  

This partnership works to promote prevention of accidental injury in children. More than 450 Safe Kids Coalitions in 16 countries bring health and safety experts, educators, corporations, foundations, governments, and volunteers together to educate and protect families.

Safe Kids provides information on injury prevention for children from newborns to 14 years old. For more information, contact Sue Driscoll at sdriscoll@childrens-specialized.org.

About Children's Specialized Hospital:

Children’s Specialized Hospital is the preeminent provider of rehabilitation services for children with special needs. The hospital serves children affected by brain injury, spinal cord injury, premature birth, autism, developmental delays, and life-changing illnesses. 

Children’s Specialized Hospital has nine sites in New Jersey and treats 19,000 children each year, making it the largest pediatric rehabilitation system of its kind in the nation. Services include outpatient services, acute rehabilitation, and long-term care through its sites in Bayonne, Clifton, Mountainside, Toms River, Fanwood, Hamilton, New Brunswick and Roselle Park (Little Egg Harbor fall 2012) as well as outreach programs in many communities. 

Children’s Specialized Hospital is a proud member of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and was named the 2012 Hospital of the Year by NJBIZ.

Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation supports the programs and services of the hospital. The Foundation is ranked among the top six pediatric hospital foundations in the country. To help, or find more information: visit www.childrens-specialized.org; find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter @ChildrensSpecNJ.