Ark. Medic Says Most Pediatric Trauma is Preventable
Sept. 08--Local trauma caretakers are noticing a sharp increase in pediatric trauma cases that they say could be easily prevented.
Ken Barnett, a flight paramedic with Air Evac Lifeteam 22 in Paris, said he has noticed a significant spike in the number of pediatric trauma cases he has worked over the course of the year compared to the same time the previous year.
Barnett attributed the increase to children not being properly restrained in child-safety seats during motor vehicle accidents.
"I noticed in a lot of the cases where we pick these kids up, the child was either not correctly restrained or they were not restrained at all," Barnett said. "It could've been because of the extremely hot weather, trying to rush to get the kid strapped in and turn on the A.C. ... but most kids who are properly strapped in, we don't even usually have to fly them."
The statewide trauma system, which the Arkansas Legislature established in 2009, uses a dashboard to quickly locate the nearest hospital that is best-suited to care for the needs of a particular patient, according to the Arkansas Department of Health website.
Before 2009, patients just had to go to the nearest hospital where the quality of injury care could have been variable and inconsistent, said Dr. Todd Maxson, trauma medical director at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock.
After the trauma system was established, Maxson said the average amount of time it takes to transfer a pediatric patient immediately after an injury to Arkansas Children's Hospital was cut in half.
"We really believe through improvements in our trauma system, which has been tremendous in our state, we have pretty good evidence this year there are probably 30 kids alone who have been saved," Maxson said. "So I give the system a whole lot of credit in saving lives."
Linda Nelson, trauma coordinator at Mercy Fort Smith, said with the increased ability to respond to pediatric trauma cases comes a balancing act with the sheer number of cases.
"In one of our more significant trauma cases, a child was not properly restrained. When you see that, it's heartbreaking and also it's so easily preventable," Nelson said. "It's not intentional neglect -- they may be in a hurry and fail to protect their child."
Mercy Fort Smith was accredited as a Level III hospital in March, Nelson said. A Level III hospital can assess a trauma patient's condition and resuscitate and perform emergency surgery while the patient is waiting to be transferred to a higher Level I or II hospital, such as Arkansas Children's Hospital, according to an article from the Arkansas Senate website.
Being a Level III hospital also means it does not have an outreach program for prevention of traumatic injuries, placing preventative responsibility in the hands of parents.
"We really need to make the public aware that they need to be buckled in," Nelson said.
Cpl. Matthew Holloway of the Fort Smith Police Department said anyone who needs help installing a child-safety seat can come to the police station and have a certified officer install it for them.
Police can volunteer for a weeklong, state-instructed course in proper safety seat installation, with a refresher course every two years to accommodate for advancements in safety seat technology. About 10 Fort Smith police officers have taken the course, Holloway said.
"Some car seats will be loose in certain areas, but they're supposed to be," Holloway said. "They don't understand what's right and wrong."
Holloway said most child-safety seats today have a five-point harness system, like NASCAR seats, so that if a car flips the child will be held safely in place.
Parents can find evaluation ratings of just about every child safety seat make and model at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. There, seats are rated on a five-star scale by harness type, overall ease of use and which seats are best equipped for which types of vehicles.
According to the NHTSA, car crashes are the No. 1 killer of children under 12 years old in the United States.
Copyright 2012 - Times Record, Fort Smith, Ark.
