Students at Absecon Middle School Receive Safety Helmets

Nearly 100 students at an Absecon middle school each recently received a special gift.

The fourth grade students at H. Ashton Marsh Elementary School each received a safety helmet during a safety helmet giveaway at the school on June 12, ARMC announced.

The giveaway, organized by the Marsh School in collaboration with the Harrah’s Regional Trauma Center at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center (ARMC) and the Absecon Police and Municipal Alliance, promoted the use of helmets by children while bicycling, skateboarding and participating in other sports that have the potential for head injury, according to ARMC.

The safety helmets were provided by the Absecon Municipal Alliance, and representatives of ARMC’s Trauma Center ensured each child’s helmet was fitted properly, ARMC said. The Trauma Center’s mascot, Traumaroo, was also on hand to pose for pictures and distribute safety literature to students to bring home to parents or guardians.

“Parents and children need to be aware of the importance of wearing a safety helmet,” ARMC Trauma Center Trauma Registrar and Technician Lindsey Heacook said. “It’s rewarding for us to teach students about helmet safety. A properly fitted helmet can reduce the risk of severe brain injury by as much as 88 percent. It’s also the law for children under 17 years-old to wear a safety helmet.”

“Educating the children about safety issues is our job,” H. Ashton Marsh Elementary School fourth grade teacher Donna Nastasi said. “I have great support from the Marsh School and colleagues to help raise awareness of the dangers of not wearing protective head gear. An inch of Styrofoam can help save a life.”

The Harrah’s Regional Trauma Center at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center offered the following helmet safety tips for parents and guardians:

• Start the habit of having your child wear a safety helmet early on. Have your child wear a helmet with the first tricycle he or she rides.
• Set a good example. Wear a helmet yourself when biking or on wheels. Let your child know that you can’t risk a brain injury.
• The helmet should cover the top of the head. To check the fit of the helmet, place to fingers above your child’s eyebrows; this is where the front of the helmet should sit.
• Be sure the pads inside the helmet are flush against the forehead.
• Replace your child’s helmet after a crash or when it no longer fits correctly.

• Reward your child for putting on a helmet without being told.
• No helmet. No bike. Always be Consistent.