Safe Kids Oakland County
Safe Kids Oakland County® is a countywide coalition working to reduce unintentional injuries to children ages 0-14 and build equitable and sustained systems that support injury prevention.
Many people are surprised to learn that preventable injuries are the number one cause of death to children in the United States and around the world, a child dies from a preventable injury every minute. Millions more are injured in ways that can affect them for a lifetime. But these injuries and deaths don’t have to happen. The important thing to remember about unintentional injuries is that they’re preventable. They often occur in predictable ways and can be completely avoided with the right education, planning, and action.
What Is a Preventable Injury?
When we talk about preventable injuries, we’re not talking about skinned knees, bruised shins, or scraped elbows. Those are the telltale signs of a curious child, exploring the world and seeking adventure. Safe Kids is a go-to resource to help parents protect their kids from traffic crashes, drowning, sleep-related deaths, fires, falls, poisoning, and more.
Based on the needs of the community, this coalition implements evidence-based programs, such as car-seat checkups, safety workshops and sports clinics that help parents and caregivers prevent childhood injuries.
Impact
Since 2014, when Safe Kids Oakland County was established through Safe Kids Worldwide and led by its lead agency, Ascension Providence Hospital, Southfield Campus, they have worked with community partners to help reduce the rate of fatal unintentional injury in children. Today, they are one of 14 Safe Kids coalitions in Michigan working with families and children to reduce childhood injuries and deaths.
How It Works
By using a public health approach that includes research, interventions to educate and raise awareness, safety device distribution, and advocacy at the federal, state, and local levels, Safe Kids Oakland County reaches thousands of children and families with proven, practical and lifesaving interventions. But losing one child is one too many, and we don’t want any parent to endure the loss of a child. By working together, we can ensure that all children have the chance to grow up healthy and safe and do all the great things kids were meant to do.