Lee County Injury Prevention Coalition presents 2012 Injury Prevention Awards
The Lee County Injury Prevention Coalition honored local organizations and citizens with its annual Injury Prevention Awards today at the Cape Coral Yacht Club. Lee Memorial Health System President and CEO Jim Nathan was the keynote speaker. The awards are presented to member organizations and/or citizens in recognition of their contributions and support of the Lee County Injury Prevention Coalition’s mission of creating a safe community in which to live, play and work.
The organizations and members honored for 2012 include:
- Injury Prevention Citizen Volunteer of the Year is Kim Gaide, volunteer coordinator for the military support group at Lee Memorial Health System. A volunteer, Gaide puts in a 40-hour week organizing and distributing monthly care packages for the military, hosting family support groups, and coordinating a team of volunteers to support the program. The program began as a support group for Lee Memorial employees and family members, but has expanded to all military members and their families in Lee County.
- Injury Prevention Professional of the Year is Debra Gary, PhD, Southwest Florida Medical Reserve Corps. In partnership with the Lee County Health Department and other organizations, Gary established a series of year-round, health screening and education clinics for the low income and underserved clients. Because it is a challenge to commit nursing staff to attend health fairs and safety events regularly, Gary has helped fill this nursing gap by coordinating medical personnel to administered flu shots, diabetes, and blood pressure screenings to at risk populations. These clinics help reduce the risk of injury to this vulnerable group.
- Injury Prevention Organization/Agency of the Year is Lee County Parks and Recreation for providing personnel, facility and event support for the Coalition, for it continued dedication to drowning prevention programs, and for implementing the G.A.T.E. gang awareness program in its summer programs.
- Injury Prevention Sponsor/Partner of the Year is Kohl’s Department Stores and its Kohl’s Cares program, which has partnered with the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida to fund the Kohl’s Kids Safety Program which promotes child passenger safety and drowning prevention through education and community events such as car seat fitting stations and safe pool parties throughout Lee, Glades, Hendry, Charlotte and Collier counties.
- Injury Prevention Media Partner of the Year is Waterman Broadcasting for its coverage of injury prevention programs related to distracted driving, concussion injuries, prescription drug use, bicycle and pedestrian safety, and underage drinking.
- Injury Prevention Program/Outreach Effort of the Year is BikeWalkLee for its ongoing efforts to improve for all users the safety and accessibility of our public streets.
“We are proud to highlight our dedicated members who continuously help us carry out our mission to keep this community safe. These programs and individuals are such an amazing asset to Southwest Florida,” says Syndi Bultman, RN, MS, CEN, injury prevention manager, trauma services, Lee Memorial Health System, and chairperson, Lee County Injury Prevention Coalition.
The Lee County Injury Prevention Coalition has been working to prevent injuries in Lee County since 1995 under the auspices of the Lee County Health Department. Today the group is composed of more than 80 different health and safety agencies and experts. The coalition is a multi-disciplinary cooperative of private and public partners that include emergency medical services, fire and rescue agencies, law enforcement agencies, hospital outreach programs, health agencies, and public and private schools. This strong partnership provides increased resources, efficiency and consistent delivery of unified safety messages to the public. For more information, visit http://leecountyinjuryprevention.org/.
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