Shriners Hospitals for Children Begins Annual Burn Prevention Campaign

2012 safety campaign focuses on teaching children and families to Be Burn Aware, especially at home

 Feb. 5-11, 2012 is Burn Awareness Week, and during this week, Shriners Hospitals for Children® will begin its annual burn prevention campaign. This year’s focus is on teaching children to “Be Burn Aware,” especially at home.  Information and materials pertaining to the effort can be found on the health care system’s website dedicated to burn awareness and prevention, www.burnawareness.org.

Homes are the sites of thousands of burn injuries to children every year, including scalds and fire-related injuries. Many of these incidents could have been easily prevented by following and implementing some basic safety tips.

“At Shriners Hospitals for Children, preventing burn injuries and providing burn awareness education is an ongoing, yearlong effort,” said Peter Armstrong, M.D., chief medical officer, Shriners Hospitals for Children. “In 2012, our campaign, ‘Be Burn Aware,’ focuses on teaching children ways to avoid burn injuries at home.”

The campaign introduces two new child-friendly characters who showcase and share our messages: Boots and Brewster – a caped, cuddly bear and a googly-eyed teapot. In the materials, the pair leads children through the various rooms of a house, pointing out dangers, and how to easily correct or avoid them.

Previous years’ efforts have emphasized prevention of gasoline and gasoline-related burn and scald injuries.

Shriners Hospitals for Children encourages everyone concerned with keeping children safe to visit www.burnawareness.org for important burn prevention tips and information on how to order the free materials, which are available in both English and Spanish.

About Shriners Hospitals for ChildrenShriners Hospitals for Children® is changing lives every day through innovative pediatric specialty care, world-class research and outstanding medical education. The 22 hospitals in the United States, Canada and Mexico provide advanced care for children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate. Shriners Hospitals for Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and relies on the generosity of donors. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.