DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – Healthcare and law enforcement experts at Parkland Health & Hospital System are urging North Texas to have a plan before celebrating this New Years Holiday.
“This time of the year there are multiple factors that come into play when you’re out on the highways,” said Shelli Stephens-Stidham, Director of the Injury Prevention Center of Greater Dallas housed at Parkland Health & Hospital System. “Not only do you have to be concerned about drivers who might be impaired or distracted you also need to be concerned about the weather.”
New Year’s parties are also times when both guns and fireworks frequently make celebratory appearances.
“That may seem obvious, but along with fireworks and champagne, shooting off guns or fireworks is a holiday tradition for some people,” said Jacob Kay, crime prevention coordinator with the Dallas County Hospital District Police Department. “Every bullet fired into the air doesn’t mean someone is going to get hurt, but the potential exists.”
According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80% of celebratory gunfire-related injuries are to the head, feet and shoulders. In addition to causing potential life-threatening injuries, stray bullets can lodge in roofs, causing damage that requires repair in most cases. Normally, the bullet will penetrate the roof surface through the roof deck, leaving a hole where water may run into the building and cause a leak.
“The combination of firearms and festivities can be a deadly combination,” Kay said. “Not only do you risk injuring or potentially killing an innocent victim, but you could end up ruining the rest of your life, too. The bottom line is just don’t do it.”
Experts believe caution should also be exercised when lighting up the New Year’s Eve sky with fireworks, according to Stephanie Campbell, MS, RN, CCRN-K, Burn Program Manager, Parkland’s Regional Burn Center.
“We’ve admitted more than 40 patients in the last five years with severe burn injuries from fireworks. Clearly most of the injuries occur in July, but we always see a second spike in patients around New Year’s Eve,” Campbell said.
She encourage people to celebrate safely with confetti poppers or silly string so that they do not have to ring in the New Year at the burn center.
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