Injury Prevention &

Occupational Health

Programs & Resources

· Car Safety & Transportation Injuries

· Occupational Injuries

· Unintentional Injuries

· Sharps Disposal Program

Car Seat Safety & Transportation Injuries

Car Seat Safety

The Pierce County Public Health Department Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPST) offer free inspections of car seats and booster seats as they are currently installed in your vehicle.  The CPST will assess the safety of the seat and assist parents with proper installation of the seat as well as safely securing the child in the seat.

NEW Permanent Car Seat Fitting Station

  Call to make an appointment: 715-273-6755

New Car Seat Law

· Wisconsin has recently issued a new child safety seat law that went into effect   June 1, 2006.

· There will be a 6-month grace period in which written warnings may be issued for any child passenger violations. The grace period ends December 31, 2006.  Citations may be issued starting in January of 2007.  Second and subsequent violations during the grace period are citable.

· The fines remain the same, although tiered for ages 0-4 and ages 4-8.

· The exemption allowing temporary removal of a child from a restraint to attend to personal needs has been removed.

· The exemption for physical, medical, or body size condition still applies to booster seats and seat belts.

· Children must be in a car seat until they reach age 4 and in a booster seat until they reach age 8.

à Less than 1 year old, or less than 20 lbs. must be in a rear-facing child seat in the back seat (if so equipped).

à Age 1 to age 4, or less than 40 lbs. must be in a forward-facing child seat in the back seat (if so equipped).

à Age 4 to age 8, between 40-80 lbs., and no more than 4 ft. 9 ins. must be in a booster seat.

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/vehicle/child/laws.htm

Pierce County & WI Transportation Injury Statistics

· In Wisconsin, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for ages one to 34.  Of these, most are due to motor vehicle injuries.  Furthermore, studies have shown that, in Wisconsin, 90% of child restraints are not installed correctly.  Other unintentional injuries include falls, drowning and burns.  http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/health/injuryprevention/index.htm

· The rate of motor vehicle crash deaths in Pierce County is slightly higher than the Wisconsin state average (21 per 100,000 persons vs. 20 per 100,000 persons), as is the percentage of crashes related to alcohol (9.8% vs. 6.9%).

For more information call 715-273-6755.

Occupational Injuries

Every September the Public Health Department offers Farm Safety days to area fourth graders. This program offers educational sessions on:

Pierce County & WI Occupational Injury Statistics

· Between 1992 and 2001, there were 6 occupational fatalities in Pierce County. Occupational health:  http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/dph_boh/

· CDC occupational health statistics:  http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/osh.htm

For more information call 715-273-6755

Unintentional Injuries

      Child safety: Prevent poisoning

     Tips from the Mayo Clinic available at   http://www.wisconsinpoison.org

  Poison Control Hotline:  1-800-222-1222

• Pharmacists and Nurses trained in toxicology to answer your questions.
• 24-hour poison information resource for health care professionals and the public.
• Free phone call.       
• Free service.
• Confidential        

Pool Safety for Children from the American Academy of Pediatrics

A swimming pool in the yard can be very dangerous for children. If possible, do not put a swimming pool in your yard until your children are older than 5 years. If you already have a pool, protect your children from drowning by doing the following:

· Never leave your children alone in or near the pool, even for a moment.

· You must put up a fence to separate your house from the pool. Most young children who drown in pools wander out of the house and fall into the pool. Install a fence at least 4 feet high around all 4 sides of the pool. This fence will completely separate the pool from the house and play area of the yard. Use gates that self-close and self-latch, with latches higher than your children's reach.

· A power safety cover that meets the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) adds to the protection of your children but should not be used in place of the fence between your house and the pool. Even fencing around your pool and using a power safety cover will not prevent all drownings.

· Keep rescue equipment (such as a shepherd's hook or life preserver) and a telephone by the pool.

· Do not let your child use air-filled "swimming aids" because they are not a substitute for approved life vests and can be dangerous.

· Anyone watching young children around a pool should learn CPR and be able to rescue a child if needed. Stay within an arm's length of your child.

· Remove all toys from the pool after use so children aren't tempted to reach for them.

· After the children are done swimming, secure the pool so they can't get back into it.

Remember, teaching your child how to swim DOES NOT mean your child is safe in water.

http://www.aap.org/family/tipppool.htm

“Unsafe at any age: Lawn mowers injure hundreds of kids a year.” 

Lawn mowers cause more than 74,000 injuries every year, according to a study released this month by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Rice University. More than 5,000 of those are to children.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-06-14-mowers-children_x.htm

Sharps containers are used to collect used syringes, lancets, and other sharp objects that may contain biohazard waste. Sharps containers are available to the public at no charge at the following locations:

• Public health offices
• River Falls Area Hospital emergency room
• Area pharmacies

For more information call 715-273-6755.