{"id":9938,"date":"2015-05-06T08:00:41","date_gmt":"2015-05-06T13:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=9938"},"modified":"2015-05-05T23:38:53","modified_gmt":"2015-05-06T04:38:53","slug":"child-heatstroke-deaths-in-vehicles-preventable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2015\/05\/06\/child-heatstroke-deaths-in-vehicles-preventable\/","title":{"rendered":"Child Heatstroke, Deaths in Vehicles Preventable"},"content":{"rendered":"

Time for vigilance is now<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"TennesseeNashville, TN<\/strong> – \u201cChildren should never be left alone in cars. Children should never be left alone in cars. Children should never be left alone in cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the message Michael Warren, MD, repeatedly stresses and wants all Tennesseans to start thinking about now. As director of the Tennessee Department of Health\u2019s Family Health and Wellness office, he studies ways to keep children safe and believes \u201cparents can never be too vigilant in protecting their children from heatstroke in vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n

[youtube]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=b3NFfWlfj24[\/youtube]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to be vigilant throughout the year\u2014but even more so with our warmest months approaching,\u201d Warren said. \u201cThe sunny days and rising temperatures of May can quickly increase the temperature inside a vehicle. In just 10 minutes, the temperature inside an average car or truck can increase 20 degrees. While that might not seem like a lot, it\u2019s important to know a child\u2019s body can heat up three to five times faster than an adult. Heat can quickly damage organs, causing severe harm and even death.\u201d<\/p>\n

To prevent accidentally leaving a child in a safety seat, parents may consider placing something beside the child that is needed at the final destination, such as a purse, briefcase, cellphone or other important belonging. They may also tape notes to the dashboard or consider a commercially available electronic warning device.<\/p>\n

\u201cA momentary lapse can create a tragedy,\u201d said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. \u201cWe know this can happen to anyone; we all need to do our part. Don\u2019t let it happen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone, not just parents, should keep their vehicles locked. This will prevent a child from entering when no one else is around and accidentally locking themselves inside. Persons who see an unattended child in a car and are concerned about the child\u2019s health should immediately call 911.<\/p>\n

A good Samaritan law went into effect in Tennessee July 1st, 2014; it gives protection to those attempting to remove a minor from a vehicle for the sake of saving a life. That law, T.C.A. \u00a7 29-34-209, allows those who have a reasonable belief a child is in danger and have contacted law enforcement\/fire department for assistance, to forcibly enter a locked vehicle without fear of civil liability.<\/p>\n

\u201cVehicles can become ovens quickly, even when parked in shady areas or when there are clouds,\u201d Warren said. \u201cYoung children, the elderly and those with health issues cannot tolerate heat and may be at great risk for heatstroke. A timely intervention by a caring person could certainly save a life.\u201d<\/p>\n

About the Tennessee Department of Health<\/h3>\n

The mission of the Tennessee Department of Health is to protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. TDH has facilities in all 95 counties and provides direct services for more than one in five Tennesseans annually as well as indirect services for everyone in the state, including emergency response to health threats, licensure of health professionals, regulation of health care facilities and inspection of food service establishments. Learn more about TDH services and programs at http:\/\/health.state.tn.us\/.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time for vigilance is now Nashville, TN – \u201cChildren should never be left alone in cars. Children should never be left alone in cars. Children should never be left alone in cars.\u201d That\u2019s the message Michael Warren, MD, repeatedly stresses and wants all Tennesseans to start thinking about now. As director of the Tennessee Department […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[6832,6702,5343,284,7379,1292,513],"class_list":["post-9938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-call-911","tag-heatstroke","tag-john-dreyzehner","tag-nashville-tn","tag-tdh","tag-tdoh","tag-tennessee-department-of-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9938"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9939,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9938\/revisions\/9939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}