RELEASE: June 23 , 2004

Previous Screen

Davy pushes “NEVER - Not Even for a Minute” summer safety campaign
Click here for a Spanish version

The May 20 th death of a seven-month-old boy in Lakewood, Ocean County, left unattended for five hours in a car while his father attended classes, prompted New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Jim Davy to hold a press conference today to launch a campaign to parents and caregivers to “NEVER - Not Even for a Minute - Leave Children or Vulnerable Adults Unattended in Motor Vehicles!”

This infant death, fully one month before the official start of summer, pushed this annual summer message up on the Commissioner's calendar. Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), in New Brunswick hosted the press conference and demonstration.

“We've had an epidemic of child tragedies over the past few years, many of which were completely preventable,” said Commissioner Davy. “So just as we are asked to be vigilant in our neighborhoods for Homeland Security, we must make it an automatic habit to be vigilant for our children's safety. Prevention is the key.”

Using a parked car and a thermometer, Commissioner Davy demonstrated for reporters and photographers how hot and deadly a closed car can become in a matter of minutes. Since 1998, six New Jersey children have died in hot cars.

Harvey Holzberg, President and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital welcomed Commissioner Davy and the media. Emcee of the event was Dr. Ernest Leva, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and RWJ University Hospital, and vice-chair of the NJ Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board, who thanked DHS for its annual summer outreach to the public about the child safety issues of never leaving children alone in hot cars, near water or near windows.

Martin A. Finkel, D.O., FACOP; Professor of Pediatrics at UMDNJ & co-chair NJ Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect offered medical facts and figures, saying that “the risks to life are greatly increased in summer months… when the closed environment of a car can heat up within 15 minutes to temperatures above 125 degrees , even when the outside temperature is in the high 70's.”

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) reports that at a body temperature between 103 and 105 degrees, both children and adults will show significant signs of heat-related stress. A body temperature of 105 degrees or above can be life threatening for both.

Today's kickoff of the DHS “Not Even for a Minute” campaign also helped launch the Summer of Safety , a public education initiative, in English and in Spanish, by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and SAFE KIDS Middlesex County to help prevent childhood injuries associated with the summer months.

“Anyone exposed to high temperatures for a sustained period of time is at risk for heat-related illness, such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Children, however, are at particular risk because they cannot regulate their body temperature as efficiently as adults,” said Daniel A. Notterman, MD, Physician-in-Chief of the Children's Hospital and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics an UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School . “As a result, the body temperature of a child can rise three to five times faster than that of an adult,” he added.

Symptoms of heatstroke include red, hot and dry skin, without visible sweating, a rapid pulse, headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, confusion and unconsciousness. Without emergency treatment, heatstroke can quickly become fatal, said Dr. Notterman, who has sent out letters to the editors promoting this car safety campaign.

Carol Ann Giardelli, director of NJ SAFE KIDS, announced that as part of the Summer of Safety campaign, the hospital and SAFE KIDS Middlesex County will “begin providing informational brochures, in English and Spanish, about the danger of leaving children in cars to the parents of newborns delivered at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital .” Safety information about the issue has also been posted on the hospital's website, www.rwjuh.edu and the website of the children's hospital, www.bmsch.org . [see attached message in Spanish]

According Deb Cohen, executive director of the New Jersey Office for the Prevention of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, which operates out of DHS, heat stroke can lead to permanent brain damage or death in a matter of minutes.

Each summer, the state Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) receives several referrals of children being left unattended in cars. Calls also come in from people who spot elderly persons or people with developmental disabilities who are left in cars or vans unattended outside shopping areas

Fact Sheet:

•  When the temperature outside is in the 90's, a closed automobile can heat up to 125 degrees in 10 minutes.

•  At a body temperature between 103 and 105 degrees, both children and adults will show significant signs of heat-related stress.

•  A body temperature of 105 degrees or above can be life threatening.

•  Heat stroke can lead to permanent brain damage or death in a matter of minutes.

•  According to the nonprofit group KIDS IN CARS which monitors media reports of children being left in cars, already this year – 2004 - there have been 78 incidents involving 100 children nationwide who have been left unattended in or around cars, resulting, in 20 deaths. The infant death in Lakewood , New Jersey on May 20 th makes that total 21 deaths nationally in less than half a year.

•  In 2003, Kids In Cars tracked incidents with children left unattended in or around vehicles at 563 incidents involving 696 kids, with 130 fatalities nationally.

•  Each summer, the state Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) receives several referrals of children being left unattended in cars, all across the state.

•  There were two child deaths in East Orange , New Jersey last summer of 2003. The father of the two young boys pleaded guilty on May 25, 2004 , to involuntary manslaughter for causing their deaths by leaving them inside a vehicle in 90-degree heat.

•  In early July, 2002, a three-year old was left unattended in a parking lot in Franklin Township , Hunterdon County

•  Three people with developmental disabilities required medical treatment in early summer of 2002, after they were left unattended in a van parked outside a shopping center in Edison .

•  In 2002, Kids In Cars reported 434 incidents involving 591 children left unattended in or around vehicles, resulting in 115 deaths nationally.

•  In 2001, Kids In Cars reported 503 children being left alone with 104 deaths; at least 35 of these were the result of children being left in hot cars.

•  In the summer of 2000, a mother left her one-year old in a car in Newton , Sussex County.

•  In 1998, a mother in Lakewood left her baby unattended in a car and the baby died.

•  If you see a child or a person with disabilities left alone in a car, report it immediately to store personnel, the police, or DYFS at 1-800-792-8610.

•  NOTE: Currently no Federal of State agency is collecting information related to deaths and injuries that occur as non-traffic incidents on public or private property.

GRACIAS A SAFE KIDS PARA ESTES PRECAUCIONES…

SAFE KIDS ofrece las siguientes precauciones de seguridad para ayudar a combatir las lesiones relacionadas al calor en los autos.

•  Jamás deje a su hijo desatendido en un vehículo, aunque sea con una ventana abierta.

•  Si usted ve a un niño pequeño que está desatendido en un vehículo, comuníquese con los servicios de emergencia  (por llamar a nueve once--911).

•  Siempre cierre con llave su vehículo–especialmente en casa–y mantenga las llaves fuera del alcance de los niños.

•  Enseñe a los niños a no jugar dentro o alrededor de los vehículos.

•  Asegúrese que todos los niños abandonen el vehículo al llegar a su destino. Sea especialmente cuidadoso si transporta niños en un día o tiempo específico que no es parte de su rutina normal. Por ejemplo, si la madre normalmente deja al hijo en su daycare, pero hoy el padre le va a dejar. Para no olvidarse de un niño que se quedó dormido, coloque su maletín o bolsa de mano en el asiento trasero donde está el niño para asegurar de que va a ese asiento antes de abandonar el vehículo.

•  Observe de cerca a los niños alrededor de los vehículos, especialmente al momento de entrar y salir.

# # #