Over 650 Grade 7 students from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board attended the Injury Prevention Wellness Day activities at Science North recently. Teachers, parents and students participated in a number of sessions that dealt with Injury Prevention, Substance Abuse and Abuse Prevention. The event was sponsored by the Sudbury and District Health Unit in conjunction with the Greater Sudbury Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police, Greater Sudbury Emergency Medical Services, Northern Youth Services, and the Northeast Mental Health Centre .

“These sessions are not only entertaining and enlightening but also meet the curriculum needs for road and motorized vehicle safety with respect to; the correct use of car restraints and airbags, bicycle injury prevention, helmet safety equipment, as well as the consequences of impaired driving and riding with an impaired driver,” stated Janet Spergel, a public health nurse at the Sudbury & District Health Unit.“In addition, students that attended this event will leave with a better understanding of how to prevent injuries and how to make smart choices when it comes to resisting peer pressure to use drugs and alcohol,”continued Spergel.

According to the 2001 Ontario Drug Use Survey, over 31.9 per cent of students in grades 7 to 13 reported being a passenger in a car driven by an impaired driver. Other statistics from Safe Kids Canada indicate that about 500 children under the age of 15 are hospitalized each year for head injuries from cycling alone. As well as taking part in workshops, safety sessions and inter-active demonstrations, students were treated to a high energy presentation on Injury Prevention by keynote speaker, Dr. Gary Bota, past Medical Director Emergency Department and Trauma Program at St. Joseph’s Health Centre.