ANN ARBOR, MI - - An established hospital-based program developed at the University of Michigan Health System is being launched this week at Hurley Medical Center in Flint in a local effort to help prevent fire-setting and accidental burns among children and teens in the greater Flint community.

Developed by the U-M Trauma Burn Center, Straight Talk is an educational program aimed at children exhibiting high-risk behavior associated with fire play, fire setting and juvenile arson. It offers hospitals, fire departments, juvenile courts, schools and parents a proven method to communicate with kids and teens about the tragic and painful medical, social, legal and financial consequences of burn injuries.

Hurley is the first hospital and Flint is the first community to join the U-M Trauma Burn Center in a national crusade to reduce the devastating effects that arson and fire currently have on the nation’s property and health. The program will be launched at a 10 a.m. press conference on Friday, Oct. 17, in Hurley Medical Center’s Merliss Brown Auditorium.

" We hope we can stem the tide of fire experimentation, juvenile arson and burn injuries by sharing our community-based approach to helping children understand what fire can do to them and to others," says Pamela Pucci, R.N., B.S.N., U-M injury prevention educator. "We want every hospital, fire department, teacher and parent to know there's something they can do to stop the needless suffering that can result when children and fire combine."

Each year, juvenile fire setting accounts for a significant number of injuries and property damages. One study found that 49 percent of fires involved a motive of curiosity. According to a 2001 report by National Fire Protection Association, 8.8 percent of all civilian fire deaths are caused by a “child playing”.

Children playing with fire (intentional fire setting not included) between 1994 and 1998 were responsible for 428,100 reported fires in the U.S., causing $1.38 billion in property damages, 1,514 civilian deaths and 11,795 injuries. Statistics complied by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the uniform crime reports show that in 1999 juveniles (under age 18) accounted for 54 percent of all arson arrests and 48 percent of all arson offenses solved by arrest, both historically high values. No other FBI index crime (serious felonies) has such a high a rate of juvenile involvement.

Straight Talk has been proven as an efficient and very effective program. In a controlled study, the recidivism rate was less than 1 percent for youth who had attended the Straight Talk Program, as compared to the control group that had a 36 percent recidivism rate.

Straight Talk brings at-risk children, ages 8 to 17, and their parents into a burn unit or hospital for a day-long, first-hand look at what their actions could do to themselves or to others - including the fire fighters who also take part in the program. Participants can be referred to the program by the juvenile court system, a local fire department, school officials, or their parents.

" By giving kids, teens and adults a glimpse of the excruciating treatment, lifelong scarring, and risk of death that can begin literally in an instant with the striking of a match or a careless spark, we hope to drive home the message of the importance of caution and prevention," says Taheri, associate professor of surgery; division Chief of Trauma, Burn and Emergency Surgery; and assistant dean at the U-M Medical School.

" After several years of development and evaluation at UMHS, Straight Talk is being implemented across the nation," says Pucci. "We are excited that the Hurley Trauma Center will be an additional resource for burn injury prevention in the State of Michigan.”

Pucci emphasizes that Straight Talk is not a "scared straight" program. Rather, it's a powerful educational tool that can open the eyes of children and teens to a side of fire they have never seen: the potential pain and suffering that deliberate or careless action could cause. She also notes that the program can be customized to meet the individual needs of the presenting institution or group.

Hospitals send representatives to attend a U-M Straight Talk training session, which includes participating in a scheduled class with children referred to the program. Medical Centers implementing the fire safety program receive the entire Straight Talk curriculum, which includes a teaching manual, powerpoint/slide presentations, brochures, sample packets of information, a sample home safety equipment packet and the international award winning video produced by the U-M Trauma Burn Center, "In an Instant”.

For more information on Straight Talk, visit the Injury Prevention section of www.traumaburn.org or call (734) 763-7757. To attend the press conference, contact Hurley Medical Center at 810-257-9285.

Contact: Steffanie Samuels, ssamuels@umich.edu
734-763-7757
or
Krista Hopson, khopson@umich.edu
(734) 764-2220

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