The Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins
Medical Institutions and the Baltimore City Fire Department
have launched the Johns Hopkins CARES Mobile Safety Center
to keep children safe from unintentional injury, the
leading cause of death for children nationwide. A 40-foot
vehicle built as a house-on-wheels, the mobile safety
center contains fun interactive exhibits and low-cost
safety products. It travels the streets of Baltimore to
teach parents and caregivers about the injury risks
children face in every home and how to prevent them. The
vehicle was officially unveiled at a news conference held
July 28.
The mobile safety center is a collaborative initiative
of the
Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Bloomberg
School and is based on the success of the hospital-based
Johns Hopkins Children's Safety Center.
"Many community and health care partners worked with
us to develop this mobile version of our hospital-based
center because they realized there was a great need for
better access to safety information and more affordable
safety products throughout the city," said Eileen M.
McDonald, program director of the Children's Safety Center
and assistant scientist in Health Policy and Management at
the Bloomberg School of Public Health. "The mobile safety
center will allow us to provide potentially life-saving
education and safety products to many more families
throughout Baltimore."
William J. Goodwin Jr., chief of the Baltimore City
Fire Department, said, "The Johns Hopkins Mobile Safety
Center is a major contribution to the community because it
provides a forum for education and empowerment to the
citizens as well as assists the Fire Department in
promoting our message about fire safety and prevention in
the home, therefore decreasing the potential hazards."
The Johns Hopkins CARES Mobile Safety Center resembles
a typical home with a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and
stairway to illustrate potential hazards and preventive
measures. For example, a smoke generator and heating
elements installed in a door simulate the conditions inside
a home during a fire. Trained instructors from the
Bloomberg School and the Fire Department use interactive
exhibits in each of the rooms to teach parents and children
how to prevent burns, falls, strangulation, poisoning and
other unintended injuries in their homes and
neighborhoods.
The vehicle also is equipped with an inventory of
safety products, including car safety seats, bicycle
helmets, safety gates and cabinet locks, which are offered
for sale at below-retail costs.
The kitchen demonstrates the
potential risk for burns.
PHOTO BY KEITH WELLER
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"Our mission is to promote the safety of children and
families by delivering fun interactive education and
affordable safety products to the community. CARES stands
for Children ARE Safe, and that is our ultimate goal," said
Andrea C. Gielen, deputy director of the Johns Hopkins
Center for Injury Research and Policy and professor of
health policy and management at the Bloomberg School.
"Every year more than 1,000 Baltimore children are
hospitalized as a result of an injury — that's almost
three children every day who do not need to be suffering
from these preventable injuries," Gielen says.
Grants from the National Center for Injury Research
and Policy at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention will allow Gielen and colleagues at Johns
Hopkins to evaluate the impact of the project over the next
two years.
The mobile safety center is funded in part by grants
to the partners from BP, the Federal Emergency Management
Administration, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Harry
and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. It was designed by the
Mobile Safety Center Partnership, which includes the
Maryland Institute College of Art, Maryland Science Center,
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and Johns Hopkins
Children's Safety Center in addition to the Baltimore City
Fire Department and the Center for Injury Research and
Policy. The vehicle was constructed by Lifeline Shelter
Systems of Columbus, Ohio, and the educational exhibits
were installed by Phoenixx Design Associates of York,
Pa.
The Johns Hopkins CARES Mobile Safety Center will be
available at the East Baltimore Medical Center, 1000 E.
Eager St., and by request at other community locations. For
more information about the center or to schedule a visit,
e-mail
Hopkins.cares@baltimorecity.gov or call
410-955-4121.