News
Beebe Medical Center Joins Delaware Office of Highway Safety to Battle Drunk Driving
11/23/10
"On Tuesday, November 23, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety set up a DUI Victim's Tree in the waiting area of the Emergency Department at Beebe Medical Center.
The tree will memorialize any alcohol-related deaths or injuries that occur across the state during this holiday period that stretches from Thanksgiving to New Year's. Each death will be marked by a red light bulb and each injury will be marked by a green one.
We want to remind people to be careful and not drive under the influence of alcohol, says Michelle Arford-Granholm, Injury Prevention Coordinator at Beebe Medical Center. We know that alcohol kills.
Last year, four people were killed and 49 were injured in alcohol-related crashes in Delaware during the holiday season.
The DUI Victim's Tree program is part of the Office of Highway Safety's 12th annual Safe Family Holiday Campaign to remind motorists to buckle up, slow down and to use a designated driver if there is any drinking. The Safe Family Holiday Campaign, which runs from Thanksgiving Eve to New Year's Day, in conjunction with the Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign, is OHS' major traffic safety initiative for the holiday season.
Beebe Medical Center is one of four hospitals in the state taking part in the DUI Victim's Tree program. The event at Beebe Medical Center was organized by the Trauma Department, which collects trauma statistics and has an active injury prevention education program.
Caption: Representatives of the Office of Highway Safety and Beebe Medical Center took part in setting up the DUI Victim's Tree. Left to right, are: Alison Kirk, Community Relations Officer for the Office of Highway Safety; Thomas Steiner, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Beebe Medical Center; Jennifer Whaley, Trauma Program Manager; Michelle Arford-Granholm, Injury Prevention Coordinator; Trish Bachman, Corporate Outreach Coordinator for the Office of Highway Safety; Dori Blades, Administrative Secretary in the Emergency Department, Cheryl Littlefield, Emergency Management Coordinator; and SueAnn Newsham, Emergency Department System Administrator.
More information from the Delaware Office of Highway safety can be found at: http://ohs.delaware.gov/CPSF_2010/pr/Thanksgiving_DUI_Enforcement_Kicks_Off_12Th_OHS_Safe_Family_Holiday_Campaign.pdf or at the website http://ohs.delaware.gov/
Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health with the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities we serve. For more information, please visit us online at www.beebemed.org
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