It's hard to believe that SMARTRISK was born only 15 years ago.
Founder and CEO, Dr. Robert Conn of Kelowna, had become a highly successful children's heart surgeon, and was training as a member of a transplant team. Then he became totally frustrated, and heartbroken at seeing the huge number of young Canadians who suddenly went, within minutes, from being happy and healthy to brain-dead- often because of some foolhardy risk.
Finally he decided he could no longer bear the sight of yet another toddler's perfect little body brought to him lifeless after drowning in a backyard pool. He became convinced that he could save more lives in a career focused on injury prevention than one dedicated to a lifetime of surgery. He resigned his position and formed the Canadian Injury
Prevention Foundation, later renamed SMARTRISK.
The mission of his creation, SMARTRISK, was simple. He wanted people to be aware of the risks in their everyday lives and help them take those risks in the smartest way possible. He decided first to reach out to teens. That led to the formation of a high school presentation "Heroes" which has been a success from the start. The recent (2006) Fall Tour of Heroes traveled 12,000 kilometres across Canada, and was presented to more than 20,000 students. February and March of 2007 were already booked solid when the winter issue of Heads Up!, the SMARTRISK newsletter, was printed. The tours begin in Toronto, where SMARTRISK is based, and head east. Unfortunately Western Canada has yet to realize the value of these presentations.
The message of "Heroes" is simple. Knowing young people will always be risk-takers, Conn made his show focus on being prepared. "Know the rules, be prepared, and wear the gear for your particular activity. Sometimes what seems like a small risk may prove fatal. Thus riding your bike, without a helmet, to the store may end in tragedy-whereas skiing in high country, while properly prepared, may actually prove a safer risk-taking behavior."
"Know the Rules, Get Trained, Wear the Gear, Buckle Up, Look First, Drive Sober," these are the slogans of the newest Smartrisk program, No Regrets. Now in its fourth year, this program has grown from 5 Canadian schools to more than 50, with plans to expand. It trains youth leaders and staff advisers to implement injury prevention activities and events in their schools. These activities are designed to influence the attitudes and behaviors of the student population as they relate to driving, biking, skateboarding, skiing, snowmobiling, and last but not least, partying.
It is encouraging to see the number of athletic activities that have promoted protective gear since Conn's programs began. Yet young people -and older ones too, still seem to think it is "cool" to take risks. The cost to our medical system is enormous.
He points out that the long waiting lists for surgery are linked to the huge percentage of hospital beds occupied by injured people. Injury is still the leading killer of Canadians under 45 years of age.
"Wouldn't it make more sense to plow resources into preventing these people from hurting themselves in the first place?" asks Conn.
Then he quotes more statistics. Ninety percent of hip fractures in Seniors are related to falls. The average Senior who falls will stay in hospital 18 days. In one year, seniors who fall use one million bed days. And such falls often mean the end of independent life. Yet
most are preventable.
Fewer falls will mean a shortening of waitlists. How many more teenagers must die, thrown from a car, riding without a seatbelt? How many more cyclists, helmetless, must be struck by a vehicle and end up brain-dead? How many more toddlers will drown in backyard pools? Canadians must learn from Dr. Conn the skills of taking smart risks, not chances. There is still a great need for the good doctor's work.
March 07,Dodi Morrison |
