Trauma Care

Caring for a horse — and the companionship that develops while riding — can be extremely rewarding. However, due to a horse's size, speed and sometimes unpredictable nature, proper safety precautions should be taken to avoid serious injury. According to the American Medical Equestrian Association, head injuries account for 60% of deaths due to equestrian accidents in the United States.

Due to the popularity of horseback riding in our area, equestrian-related injuries are among the top five most-treated injuries in our emergency department.

We’re committed to promoting public awareness of equestrian-related injuries, injury prevention, public safety and the importance of wearing an equestrian helmet.

Helmets Save Lives

It’s widely recommended that all horseback riders wear a properly fitted, certified equestrian helmet with a secured harness when riding. Properly fitted equestrian helmets can prevent death and reduce the severity of head injuries. It is important to note that other types of helmets, including bike helmets, are inadequate for the horse rider.

At AdventHealth Parker, our equestrian safety program conducts free community safety seminars. We teach how to recognize concussion symptoms and when to seek treatment. We also educate on properly fitting a helmet and provide custom-fitted helmets to local equestrian riders for a small fee.

If you are interested in training on equestrian safety and how to fit a helmet properly, please contact Mindie Ottke at 303-269-4638 or [email protected] or check out our upcoming events.

Falls can lead to various injuries, ranging from minor bruises to severe fractures or head injuries, and are a significant health concern, particularly for seniors. Prevention strategies often involve improving physical fitness, ensuring safe environments and addressing medical issues that may contribute to the risk of falling.

Fall-related injuries are the most common injuries treated in our emergency department and admitted to our hospital. We’re committed to promoting awareness of fall-related injuries, injury prevention and public safety classes.

We offer free fall prevention classes for older adults.

ThinkFirst to Prevent Falls is an evidence-based class that provides education on the following topics:

• Home Modifications: Installing grab bars, improving lighting, removing tripping hazards and using non-slip mats
• Exercise Programs: Strength and balance training to improve physical fitness and stability
• Medication Management: Reviewing medications for side effects and interactions
• Assistive Devices: Using canes, walkers or other mobility aids as needed
• Vision Checks: Yearly vision checks are important to identify the slow progression of eye disease, including cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and macular degeneration, which is important to decrease vision loss. Review how vision helps with balance, coordination, depth perception, and discerning contrast
  
  

Motor vehicle crashes are among the leading causes of injury, death and hospitalization in Colorado. Each year, more than 300 drivers and passengers die in car accidents, and nearly 2,500 are hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries. As part of our comprehensive injury prevention program, we partner with community-based and government organizations to reduce car-related injuries and fatalities in our community.

Our trauma services department understands that teaching new drivers about distracted driving is important for decreasing injuries and deaths in our community. We created a resource guide for students to use to develop peer-to-peer drive-safe initiatives at their schools.

The guide provides students and teachers with direction on getting started and encourages them to create a program unique to the needs of their student body. Students can submit a final project to be entered to win a trophy or monetary award for their school.

Some of the project requirements include conducting a pre- and post-seat belt observation, scheduling a presentation presented by an injury prevention professional, providing parent education on graduated driver’s license (GDL) laws and documenting a succession plan for younger students to continue the safe driving initiatives for the following year.

As the trauma service department has developed community partnerships, a coalition called Choose S.A.F.E. was developed. We currently have more than 30 community partners and 15 hospitals involved in our drive-safe coalition.