ENCARE     

In the emergency departments of this country, much of the trauma that is seen is preventable. This fact causes a great deal of frustration for emergency health care professionals because it is often impossible to repair the broken bodies and shattered lives that result from trauma. One of the overriding factors is the age of most of the victims. Trauma is a disease of the young. Whether it is motor vehicle trauma, bicycle injuries or trauma from violence, the lives of young victims and their families are irrevocably changed because of preventable injuries and fatalities.

Emergency health care professionals (nurses, EMTs and paramedics) are credible educators, in a unique position to educate the public. They deal with injuries every day and traditionally teach the public, one to one often in a crisis situation. While today's practicing health care providers often concentrate their efforts on the acute phase of injury treatment, with a goal of optimizing the patient’s condition for rehabilitation, a third component must be included - prevention. Emergency Nurses CARE volunteers provide injury prevention education to the public across the country.

EN CARE is ENA's Injury Prevention Institute. EN CARE and ENA are committed to reducing the number of preventable injuries through public education.

ENCARE's Philosophy: As emergency health care professionals, we have an obligation to educate the public on health and safe lifestyles.

ENCARE's Mission: The mission of Emergency Nurses CARE is to reduce preventable injuries and deaths by educating the public in order to raise awareness and promote healthy lifestyles.

Objectives:

• To reduce the number of injuries, deaths and crashes due to drinking and driving.

• Increase the proportion of adolescents who abstain from using alcohol.

• Initiate early alcohol and drug awareness education and prevention skills.

• Provide education to senior citizens about the interaction of alcohol and their medications as well as highway safety skills.

• Provide occupant protection education to the general population.

• Support helmet laws and encourage helmet use.

• Promote collaboration in local communities to prevent injuries.

• Provide injury prevention education to the public in all areas including, but not limited to: bicycle and helmet safety, gun safety, domestic violence prevention, fall prevention, home safety and child passenger safety.

EN CARE Programs:

• Alcohol Awareness Programs

Learning to CARE- An interactive slide presentation for 3rd-5th graders that addresses the use of alcohol, helpful and harmful drugs, decision making, and peer pressure.

                        Take CARE- Aimed at the population of 55 and above, this slide program                         focuses on the safe use of medication and highway safety issues.

                         Dare to CARE- A 45-minute slide presentation that discusses the                                            consequences of underage alcohol use, drinking and driving, and safety                                        belt noncompliance. Shows the impact of such behavior on families   and  others. This program is shown to teens, college students, and adults.

• Child Passenger Safety Technical Training Prevention

                        Educates nurses and others on how to teach child occupant protection to                         the public and how to be resources in their communities.

• Crash Course: Collaborative Approach to Injury Prevention

                        Educates nurses and others about injury prevention in order to empower                         them to work in the community as advocates for vehicle passenger safety.

• Gun Safety- It's No Accident

                        ENA has joined forces with Master Lock Company in a public awareness                         campaign to call attention to the practice of gun safety.

• Polaroid- Family Violence

"Take the Picture. Ask the Questions. Break the Cycle" Campaign. This is a training program for ED nurses o indentifying victims of domestic violence who  present to the ED. Polaroid provides cameras and training.

Contact Anne May at amayrncen@aol.com if you are interested in having a training in your area.

Gun Safety: It's NO Accident

In light of the recent school shootings, you can help prevent these tragedies by bringing the Gun Safety: It's NO Accident program to your community to educate parents, owners of stores where firearms are sold, and teenagers and kids about essential factors to consider in protecting loved ones from tragic gun-related injuries and fatalities. This program is designed to increase public awareness of firearm safety issues and reduce unnecessary, preventable firearm injuries and fatalities. It also includes personal stories about the tragedies of gun violence and explores conflict resolution techniques for adolescents. For more information about the program, visit ENA's Web site at www.ena.org/ipinstitute/institute/guns/default.asp.

Help Prevent Falls With Stand Strong for Life Program

The Stand Strong for Life program, developed by the ENA Injury Prevention Institute/EN CARE, provides health care professionals with information on preventing falls among older adults in their communities. This evidence-based program includes health care professional and community-based modules, two PowerPoint® presentations and four brochures. The health care professional module can be used as a self-study or group guide. The community-based module targets community-dwelling older adults who are at medium or high risk for falls. Modules, PowerPoint presentations, and brochures are included on a single CD-ROM. To order, contact the ENA Member Services Department at 800/243-8362.

Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral Tool Educational Toolkit for Alcoholism Screening- Prevention of Drinking and Driving

ENA is developing a Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment (SBIRT) educational toolkit in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The toolkit will include a tri-fold nursing folio explaining the goals and concepts of SBIRT, a cut-out pocket guide for quick reference to screening questions and patient assessment and an interactive training video on DVD. The toolkit is a self-learning or group interactive training guide and will be distributed free of charge to 5,000 emergency departments in the U.S. starting in early 2008. For more information, contact the ENA Injury Prevention Institute/EN CARE at 847/460-4112.

Updated Call for SBIRT Volunteers- ENA is currently recruiting nurse champions who are interested in having a positive impact on their community by promoting a reduction in the number of trauma related injuries with alcohol involvement. This would be accomplished through the use of the SBIRT (Alcohol Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment) Program that is to start in 2008. Goals would be to reduce

• Initial and repeat alcohol related trauma injuries
• Alcohol consumption
• Emergency department visits
• Health care costs

 Champions will advance ED SBIRT in their emergency departments or place of practice and communities.  They will serve as leaders in promoting and disseminating SBIRT toolkits that were developed in collaboration with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and emergency departments across the country. 

   “Many studies show that the SBIRT procedure is an effective prevention intervention for reducing alcohol consumption, repeat injuries, repeat emergency department visits and health care costs” (ENA Connection, Nov. 2007, pg 8).  The SBIRT toolkit, which will be sent to 5,000 hospitals in the Spring of 2008, includes:

• Education Module for emergency health care professionals
• Motivational video
• Power point presentation for nurse educators
• Pocket guide
• Fact sheet
• Drinking agreement
• Patient brochures and
• Other resources.

Many Champions are needed.  Complete a SBIRT Champion Profile on the ENA website www.ena.org/ipinstitute/SBIRT/Benefits.asp or contact the Injury Prevention Institute via email at ipinstitute@ena.org, or call 842-460-4112, or 1800-900-9659x8 and the staff will be happy to help you.

Thank you for helping to reduce alcohol related injuries.  

Anne May, Assistant ENCARE Chairperson

1st Qtr:     Jan 1 - March 31