Shriners Hospitals for Children Kicks Off Burn Awareness Week

TAMPA, FLORIDA (PRWEB) JANUARY 25, 2017

Feb. 5-11, 2017, is Burn Awareness Week. During this time, Shriners Hospitals for Children® will begin its annual burn awareness and prevention campaign. This year’s effort will once again use the theme “Be Burn Aware,” and focus on preventing burn injuries in the home, because the vast majority of preventable burn injuries continue to occur in residences. Homes are the sites of thousands of burn injuries to children every year, including scalds, fire-related injuries, and even electrical burns. Many of these incidents could have been easily prevented by following and implementing some basic safety tips.

Burn Awareness Week is Shriners Hospitals for Children’s kickoff of a yearlong educational campaign aimed at burn awareness and prevention that includes offering free educational materials via the website, beburnaware.org. The items are designed to be a resource for firefighters, teachers, parents and others concerned with the safety and well-being of children.

“Shriners Hospitals for Children is committed to providing burn awareness education year-round to help prevent burn injuries,” said Kenneth Guidera, M.D., chief medical officer of Shriners Hospitals for Children.

“Our ‘Be Burn Aware’ campaign this year will again be focused on teaching children and families ways they can avoid burn injuries. Shriners Hospitals for Children is aware that many of these pediatric burn injuries are preventable, and hopes to reduce their occurrences through education.”

The campaign features two child-friendly characters, Boots and Brewster – a caped, cuddly bear and a googly-eyed teapot – who are featured in activity books for children ages 3-7 and 8-12. The duo leads children through the various rooms of a house, pointing out dangers, and how to easily correct or avoid them. The coloring pages, word searches, cartoons and other activities are designed to grab children’s attention and present the information in a memorable, age-appropriate manner. The campaign also includes various tip sheets and materials.

Shriners Hospitals has also created an animated video featuring the clever pair, Boots and Brewster, which kids are sure to love. In the new video, available on our website, Boots and Brewster take viewers on a fun and educational adventure to help them become more burn aware. Actor Joe Minoso, star of NBC’s hit show Chicago Fire, is the national spokesperson for the Be Burn Aware campaign.

“Don’t let a careless action ruin your time with family and friends. Be Burn Aware,” said David Greenhalgh, M.D., chief of burns at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Northern California. “Our burn team is devoted to helping children with devastating burn injuries survive and thrive, and we are equally devoted to teaching parents, children and the community how to prevent burn injuries. When it comes to burn injuries, prevention is the best medicine.”

Shriners Hospitals for Children encourages everyone concerned with keeping children safe to visit beburnaware.org for important burn prevention tips and information on how to order the free materials.

About Shriners Hospitals for Children 
Shriners Hospitals for Children is changing lives every day through innovative pediatric specialty care, world-class research and outstanding medical education. Our 22 locations 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.