Over the past three years, he has been instrumental in guiding injury prevention efforts in Mecklenburg County. In selecting Eric for the honor, judges cited his work and Medic's Community Relations program as "the national model for others in EMS to emulate."
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 5 to 15 in Mecklenburg. In his 10 years of EMS service, Eric has responded to thousands of car crashes and, tragically, Eric noticed a large number of injury crashes involved children not properly restrained in car seats. So, he put together an Injury Prevention Team of field paramedics that staff two permanent Car Seat Fitting Stations. They have inspected and installed more than 1,000 car seats. The same Injury Prevention Team also teaches teens in driver education classes, conducts bicycle safety rodeos, teaches a program called “Kid Tips” targeted to childcare providers about injury prevention, and appeared in several Public Service Announcements scripted by Eric himself.
Next on Eric’s agenda-Senior falls, which accounted for the highest percentage of injuries to the elderly. To combat these injuries, Eric put into place two programs, “Remembering When” and “Scouting for Dangers in the Home”, a program that has trained boy scout troops to conduct home safety inspections for over 4,000 seniors.
Eric is one paramedic who is truly making a difference in his community.
