Setting the Standard for Comprehensive, Compassionate Brain, Spine and Pain Care
Neuroscience Group Serious About Prevention — Think First Fund Initiated at Community Foundation
NEENAH, WI—(February 27, 2006). The Neuroscience Group of NE Wisconsin takes seriously it’s responsibility to help educate the community, especially children, on ways to proactively prevent brain and spinal cord injuries. Therefore, a fund has been established at the Community Foundation Fox Valley Region for this purpose. The "Think First Fund" will support prevention education for the community through educational programs targeted at prevention through the Think First curriculum.
Accidents are the main cause of death in youth ages 1-14 and 15-24. Brain and spinal cord injuries are most often caused by motor vehicle crashes, falls, sports and recreation-related injuries, such as diving and hunting accidents. In our community, health care professionals and educators have teamed up to provide age-related education focused on decreasing risk-related behaviors, which sometimes cause brain and spinal cord injuries using the curriculum and materials available through the Think First National Injury Prevention.
Think First is a national, award-winning injury prevention program targeted at elementary and middle school students, which teaches students to "use your mind to protect your body and prevent life-threatening injuries." Think First began in 1986 when two of the largest professional neurosurgical associations (The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) teamed up to develop a national injury prevention program. Both the AANS and CNS agreed that prevention of injuries was the best cure for brain and spinal injuries and that neurosurgical health professionals should be responsible for public education and public policy efforts to eradicate brain and spine trauma. The Think First National Injury Prevention Foundation solicited help from our local neurosurgeons to establish programs in our schools. Dr. Thomas Lyons is the Director of the Fox Valley Think First Chapter. Under his direction, The Neuroscience Group of Northeast Wisconsin, provides the Think First programs and curriculum materials free of charge to any local school interested in providing this safety program for their students. The Think First programs provide research-validated, multi-level educational program in our community schools through the volunteer efforts of Neuroscience Group and Theda Clark Medical Center staff as prevention educators. On a local level, over 500 children each year have learned to “Think First” through this community outreach program. For further information, see the Think First web site: www.thinkfirst.org
The Neuroscience Group of NE Wisconsin provides a wide spectrum of neurological and neurosurgical services throughout NE Wisconsin. These services include care for patients with serious health care concerns like epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, headaches, multiple sclerosis, peripheral nerve diseases as well as surgical procedures for spine, brain and peripheral nervous system disorders.
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