Resources

Injuries to Children

• BURNS - Child Safety - How to Prevent Burns -- Mayo Clinic: Children learn by touching things, including those that can be dangerous. Prevent burns by taking these important child safety measures from the Mayo Clinic.
• CAR SAFETY SEATS -- Avoid Ten Common Mistakes -- Mayo Clinic: Car seat safety isn't child's play. Understand ten common mistakes parents make when buying, installing and using car safety seats for children.
• CAR SAFETY SEATS -- BabyCenter -- How to Choose and Use a Booster Seat: Answers many common questions about how to choose the right booster seat for your child.
• CAR SAFETY SEATS -- Information for Families -- American Academy of Pediatrics: Helpful information for families on how to choose a proper child safety seat, including charts and illustrations. The site also has a link to lists of car safety seats and their manufacturers.
  
• CAR SAFETY SEATS -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: NHTSA website has information about choosing and using child safety seats, as well as information on where to find seat inspection stations where you can get a free child seat checkup.
• CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION -- ChildHelpUSA: 800-4-A-CHILD -- hotline provides crisis counseling and literature about child abuse. The website has many resources for children, parents and professionals.
• CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION - Prevent Child Abuse America: 800-CHILDREN -- The National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse website provides information and referrals about child abuse.
• CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION -- Shaken Baby Syndrome - Never Shake a Baby: The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, 1-888-273-0071, is a private, non-profit organization that provides information to parents and professional about Shaken Baby Syndrome. NEVER SHAKE A BABY.
• CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION -- US Department of Health and Human Services: The US Department of Health and Human Services provides general information about health and safety issues, including links to child abuse information and topics.
• DAY CARE SAFETY - National Child Care Information Center - Dept of Heatlh & Human Services: This site lays out the administrative codes and policy manuals for state-funded child care programs for each state. It also has a lot of other valuable information.
• DAY CARE SAFETY -- National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education: This national organization provides lots of information and resources that helps parents monitor the safety of child care institutions, including family day care facilities. The link is to Virginia information.
• DAY CARE SAFETY -- Smart Beginnings -- VA Star Quality Rating Initiative: A voluntary rating system for day care facilities in Virginia. The website includes a list of the highest-rated facilities.
• DAY CARE SAFETY -- VA Child Care Resource and Referral Network: Virginia Child Care Resource and Referral Network is a community-based network of early care and education specialists. It provides information for families and child care providers. You can search the site for quality child care in your area.

Injuries and Wrongful Death

• Division of Motor Vehicles - Teen Driver Safety: DMV teen driver safety tips with links to the full DMV website.
• Division of Motor Vehicles - Virginia Highway Safety Office News Room: This DMV webpage has links to the latest news about highway safety in Virginia, as well as many links to other articles and press releases in the DMV website.
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD): This link is to the Virginia chapter of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). MADD was created 30 years ago by a handful of mothers with a mission to stop drunk driving. Since then, it has followed its mission and saved thousands of lives through its many educational and advocacy activities.
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

  NHTSA website has information on crash facts, airbag safety, car safety and the agency's traffic safety efforts. Additional links available within website.

• Safe and Drug Free Schools:

  The Safe & Drug Free Schools and Communities Act  (SDFSCA) program is the federal government's primary vehicle for reducing violence and alcohol and other drug through supporting education and prevention activities in schools. SDFSCA grants in Virginia are administered through the Virginia Department of Education.

• Transportation Safety Training Center:

  TSTC's website has information on the Virginia Crash Investigation Team, Highway Safety Police Training, accident reconstruction and other highway safety research.

• Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP):

  VASAP website has information on sanctions for driving under the influence (DUI), underage "use and lose" laws, responsible hosting tips, effects of alcohol on the body and more.

• Virginia Association of Driver Education and Traffic Safety:

  This website has information on traffic safety, laws and youth-related driving material.

• Virginia Department of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC): ABC's website has information for alcohol retailers, students, educators, license applicants and citizens with questions about Virginia's ABC laws and regulations, as well as ABC's efforts to combat underage drinking.
• Virginia Department of Education: This Virginia state government website has Virginia statutes that regulate alcohol and information on classroom curriculum dealing with alcohol use.
• Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV): The DMV website has a comprehensive review of traffic safety information and links to other traffic safety sites.
• Virginia Department of Transportation: VDOT's website has comprehensive information about highway transportation in Virginia.
• Virginia Sheriffs' Association: The Virginia Sheriffs' Association website has a listing of all Virginia sheriffs and links to other related sites.
• Virginia State Police: The State Police website has information on vehicle safety, state laws, criminal investigations and more.
• Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI): VTTI if one of three federal Research Centers of Excellence. Its research has effected transportation policies on both the state and national level.
• Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) - Distracted Driver Report: VTTI distracted driver study concludes that driver inattention is the leading factor in crashes and near-crashes. A primary cause of driver inattention is cell phone use.
• Washington Regional Alcohol Program: The Washington Regional Alcohol Program is a public-private partnership working to prevent drunk driving and underage drinking in the Washington metropolitan area. It may be best known to residents in the area for its free cab-ride service for would-be drunk drivers -- SoberRide.

Elder Neglect - General

• Getting answers to your nursing home questions: Guide for Consumer Participation: Regardless of whether the nursing home you are considering or the one where your elderly loved one resides is a member of the Advancing Excellence Campaign, this document gives you lots of useful information and guidance in finding the right place for your loved one and for monitoring what happens while she is a resident in the nursing home.
• Getting answers to your nursing home questions: Consumer Tip Sheet: Advancing Excellence in America's Nursing Homes is a national campaign to improve the quality of care and life for people receiving care in nursing homes.
• National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care: Founded in 1975 out of concern with substandard care in long-term care facilities, Consumer Voice is the leading national voice representing consumers in issues related to long term care helping to ensure that consumers are empowered to advocate for themselves. It is a primary source of information and tools for consumers, families, caregivers, advocates and ombudsmen to help ensure quality care for the individual.
• Virginia Department for the Aging: This website has links to many helpful resources.The links are listed alphabetically so they are easy to locate.

Elder Neglect - Complaints

• Consumer Complaint Report: If you want to file a formal complaint with the Virginia Department of Health, you will need to mail or fax a Consumer Complaint Report, along with any supporting documents, to:
  
  Complaint Intake
  Office of Licensure and Certification
  Virginia Department of Health
  9960 Maryland Drive, Suite 401
  Richmond, VA 23233-1463
  Telephone: (804) 367-2106
  Toll Free: 1-800-955-1819
  Fax: (804) 527-4503
  
  You can also report neglect or abuse by telephone by calling the Virginia Department of Health.
  

Elder Neglect - Falls

• Biomedcenter Health Services Resources: Fall-related injuries in a nursing home setting: is polypharmacy a risk factor? This article reinforces the importance of routine medication reviews, especially in residents exposed to polypharmacy regimens, to reduce the risk of fall-related injuries during nursing home stays.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: This web site has facts about falls among older adults, including falls in nursing homes, their causes and prevention. Importantly, the web site cites studies that conclude that restraints do not lower the risk of falls, and that they can actually increase the risk of fall-related injuries and death.

Elder Neglect - Malnutrition and Dehydration

• Journals of Gerontology: "Improving Food Intake in Nursing Home Residents with Feeding Assistance: A Staffing Analysis" concludes that the time required to implement feeding assistance greatly exceeded the time nursing staff spent assisting nursing home residents in usual mealtime care conditions.

Elder Neglect - Medication Errors

• American Medical Directors Association: "Reducing Medication Errors in Nursing Homes" describes the types of medication errors and their causes and suggests strategies for improvement.
• Interruptions Increase the Risk of Medication Errors: Association of Interruptions with an Increased Risk and Severity of Medication Administration Errors. This empirical study of nurses at two hospitals concluded that the occurrence and frequency of interruptions were significantly associated with the incidence of procedural failures and clinical errors.
• Medication Aide Factsheet Resident Safety and Medication Errors: Factsheet gives information on the problem of medication errors and an overview of studies on frequency and causes of nursing home and hospital medication errors.
• Medication Errors Plague Nursing Home Residents: This article from the Boston Globe reports on a study that suggests the problem of medication errors in nursing homes is far more widespread than previously estimated. The study found that 73 percent of the most severe injuries were preventable medication errors.

Elder Neglect - Pressure Sores

• American Academy of Wound Management: is a national inter-disciplinary certifying board for healthcare professionals involved in wound care.
• e-medicine from WebMD - Differential diagnosis and workup: These articles provide a huge amount of information on various topics about nonsurgical treatment of pressure ulcers.
• e-medicine from WebMD - Follow-up Treatment: These articles provide a huge amount of information on various topics about nonsurgical treatment of pressure ulcers.
• e-medicine from WebMD - Overview: These articles provide a huge amount of information on various topics about nonsurgical treatment of pressure ulcers.
• e-medicine from WebMD - Treatment and Medication: These articles provide a huge amount of information on various topics about nonsurgical treatment of pressure ulcers.
• Encyclopedia of Surgery: Bedsores:

  This web site has clearly-written information about what a bedsore is, its diagnosis and prevention, as well as links to other resources.

• European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel: The goal of the EPUAP is to "provide relief of persons suffering from or at risk of pressure ulcers, in particular through research and the education of the public." The web site has links to many other web sites and resources in the web site itself, including guidelines for prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers.
• London Health Sciences Center: This web site includes extensive information on wound care management, including photographs of different wounds and dressings http://www.lhsc.on.ca/Health_Professionals/Wound_Care/example.htm as well as examples of staging pressure ulcers http://www.lhsc.on.ca/Health_Professionals/Wound_Care/pressure.htm
• National Decubitus Foundation: The goal of the Foundation is the "eradication of the hospital-caused bedsore." The web site has links to other web sites, and to current and past issues of its newsletters that provide information about prevention of bedsores.
• National Pressure Ulcer Advisor Panel: March 2010 Press Release: "Not All Pressure Ulcers Are Avoidable." A Revised definition of an unavoidable pressure ulcer was developed by a panel of experts in pressure ulcer prevention and treatment.
• National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel: Updated Staging System. NPUAP changed the definition of a pressure ulcer and the stages of pressure ulcers, including the original four stages and added two stages on deep tissue injury and unstageable pressure ulcers.
• National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel: Position Paper on Staging Pressure Ulcers. Nurses, in particular those who examine the patient's skin, are often the first professionals to notice a skin lesion and need to identify the pressure ulcer so that early and appropriate care can be given, such as turning and repositioning.
• National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel: Serves as the authoritative voice for improved patient outcome in pressure -ulcer prevention and treatment through public policy, education, and research.