Lee Health’s Injury Prevention Team Asks the Community to Shine a Green Light After Sundown on Nov. 18 for Annual National Injury Prevention Day

National Injury Prevention Day falls on November 18 each year, and Lee Health is asking the public to help raise awareness throughout our community. Injury and violence are the number one cause of death for children and adults aged one to 44 years old, according to the Injury Free Coalition for Kids. Raising awareness and offering education are some ways we can push for a change. 

All Lee Health adult acute-care hospitals, Golisano Children’s Hospital, Lee Health Coconut Point, and the Lee Health Sports Complex will be lit up in green after the sun sets on Nov. 18. Lee Health’s Injury Prevention Team invites others to participate by shining a green light on buildings, monuments, and thoroughfares throughout Southwest Florida or by wearing green. 

Additionally, the Old Lee County Courthouse on Main Street in Fort Myers, the Florida Highway Patrol, Fort Myers Fire Department, Fort Myers Police Department, Babcock Ranch, Ranch Road Baptist Church, and Ace Hardware, will be lit up green to show their support and solidarity. 

Lee Health’s Injury Prevention Team will also be sharing education and practical tips throughout the day to raise awareness in the community.

Bumps, bruises, cuts, and scrapes are typical injuries for children who are still learning and navigating the world. However, serious and unintentional injuries, such as suffocation, drowning, motor vehicle crashes, and other preventable injuries, are a real threat that can cause disability or death for children who are one to 18 years old.

According to the National Safety Council, the top three leading causes of preventable injury-related deaths are poisoning, falls, and motor vehicle crashes, including motorcycles, and account for 86% of all avoidable deaths. Other preventable injuries that may cause death, include suffocation, drowning, fires and burns, and natural or environmental disasters.

Emergency Department visits are dominated by fall-related injuries, accounting for 35% of all preventable non-fatal injuries. 

To learn more, please visit https://www.leehealth.org/our-services/trauma-care/injury-prevention or https://www.injuryfree.org