Vim & Vigor - Winter 2009 - (Page 49)

wearing a helmet is a simple safety precaution that can save your life protect your head call To learn more about the It Ain’t Brain Surgery helmet program or to make a donation, call 303-629-4446. brain surgery! V isit Vail, Keystone, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge or Heavenly this ski and snowboard season and you’ll notice something new: more helmets. The reason? Vail Resorts Inc. has made the protective headgear part of the uniform for all employees of its ﬁve mountain resorts. A press release issued last spring by Mountain Division co-presidents John Garnsey and Blaise Carrig stated, “At Vail Resorts, the safety of our employees and guests is a top priority and we believe the time has come for us to take our commitment to safety to the next level. Our employees will set the example next year for all who enjoy skiing and riding our slopes.” Moreover, helmets will be mandatory for all children ages 12 and under enrolled in the resorts’ ski-and-ride schools. The statement concluded, “… we strongly recommend the use of helmets for all of our guests, regardless of their age or ability level.” That recommendation is music to the ears of St. Anthony Central Hospital’s trauma prevention and treatment personnel. They helped pioneer the national helmet-awareness initiative … and they see the lives it saves. “As I was seeing the injuries and tabulating the outcomes, I became more and more interested in promoting helmet use on the slopes,” Levy says. “A friend of mine was managing Christy Sports in Winter Park, so we started a pilot program there, loaning helmets [purchased by the St. Anthony Health Foundation] to anyone renting equipment.” it ain’t ❋ catching on ❋ a smart idea The starting point was 1996, when Stewart Levy, M.D., joined Intermountain Neurosurgery and Neuroscience and became part of the St. Anthony Central trauma team. As a Level I trauma center and the home of Flight For Life, St. Anthony Central was treating more skiers and snowboarders with head injuries than any other facility in Colorado. That ﬁrst ski season—1997–98—saw some 200 helmets placed into action. The response was so positive that thousands of helmets were soon distributed through 36 rental stores throughout Colorado. “That was the year both Sonny Bono and Michael Kennedy died from ski-related head trauma,” Levy says, “so awareness was heightened and we were ready.” In successive years, helmets were provided for all ski patrol and instructors in Summit and Grand counties. And when the Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City in 2002, all racecourse and patrol personnel wore helmets from this innovative preventive-health program. While the initial idea for the “It Ain’t Brain Surgery” helmet program was his, Levy is quick to recognize this as a communitywide success. “Thanks to foundation grants, private gifts, donations from Christy Sports and helmet manufacturers, and fundraisers like the School of Mines’ Skiathon, we’ve now loaned out more than 500,000 helmets.” vim & vigor · wi nter 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2009

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2009
Contents
Opening Thoughts
For Your Health
Close Call
Model Behavior
Is It a Sign?
Your Heart: The Owners Manual
Independence Days
The Right Stuff
Watch and Learn
Up to Speed
Pedi-Cures
It Ain't Brain Surgery
Centering Preganancy
Somebody Special
From Here to Hanoi
Community
Ask the Experts

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2009