Injury Prevention and Safety Education

Keeping Our Communities Safe in Central Massachusetts and Beyond

The Injury Prevention Department at UMass Memorial Health is here to support you and your family before an injury ever occurs. Home to the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, we know firsthand about the types of traumatic injuries happening in our community — and how you can best prevent them.

Who We Serve

Our Injury Prevention Department partners with our community and with local and national organizations. We also help underserved communities by providing better access to safety information and equipment. Our partners include:  

• Advocacy and support groups
• First responders
• Government agencies
• Health care professionals
• Nonprofit organizations
• Public law offices
• Schools and youth groups
• Senior centers and assisted living facilities

Our Injury Prevention Programs

For more than 25 years, our experienced injury prevention team has been leading grant-funded initiatives for adults and children throughout Worcester County. Each year, we provide safety education to thousands of residents, helping them stay safe at home, school, work and everywhere in between.

Our programs include: 

• Stop the Bleed
• Guns 2 Gardens
• Aging Gracefully
• Bingocize
• Child Passenger Safety
• Helmet Safety
• Safety Quest
• Teen RIDE

Stop the Bleed

Uncontrolled bleeding is the top cause of preventable death after a traumatic injury. Our injury prevention team partners with Stop the Bleed, a nationwide initiative led by the American College of Surgeons, to empower bystanders to act quickly and control bleeding before first responders arrive. We provide free training and equipment to teachers, community organizations, health care professionals and anyone who wants to provide life-saving care during a bleeding emergency.

Our Stop the Bleed training program teaches you to: 

• Apply direct pressure to a wound
• Use a tourniquet safely and effectively
• Pack a wound to control bleeding

Email us to learn more about this program or schedule a course at your location.

Guns 2 Gardens Gun Buyback

Through the annual Guns 2 Gardens Gun Buyback, people throughout Worcester County can exchange firearms for grocery gift cards. The program is led by UMass Memorial in collaboration with the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, local police departments and Guns 2 Gardens Massachusetts.

Our mission is to lower the risk of accidental injury or death, theft or misuse of firearms. The gun exchange is anonymous, no questions asked. Surrendered weapons are safely dismantled and transferred to volunteer blacksmiths, who repurpose them into garden tools for local community gardens. We also provide education on safe firearm storage, free gun locks (even if you’re not discarding a weapon) and other resources to promote firearm safety.

The Guns 2 Gardens Gun Buyback happens each December. Check out our Facebook event for details on drop-off locations and hours.

Fall Prevention for Older Adults

We offer resources to reduce the risk of falls in older adults.

Aging Gracefully

Our Aging Gracefully workshop aims to lower the risk of fall-related injuries among older adults. Our team, led by injury prevention specialists, visits senior centers to provide fall prevention education and wellness workshops. The presentation was created by experts, including occupational therapists, physical therapists, pharmacists and physicians.

The workshop offers tips for staying active, strong and safe. Reducing falls can minimize hospitalizations and help older adults remain independent longer, improving their quality of life.

Bingocize

Bingocize® is an evidence-based fall prevention program, offered twice weekly for about 10 weeks. It combines the classic game of bingo with simple, gentle exercises and health education to keep your body and mind strong. Our injury prevention specialists offer Bingocize at local senior centers and assisted living facilities.

Child Passenger Safety

The Child Passenger Safety program at UMass Memorial educates parents and caregivers on how to properly use car seats, boosters and seat belts. Our mission is to prevent traumatic injuries in motor vehicle crashes, the leading cause of death in children ages 3 to 14.

Email us to schedule a free car seat check by a certified technician.

Helmet Safety Program

Our Helmet Safety Program helps prevent and reduce head injuries and increases awareness of safe riding. We provide free helmets and individualized fittings to any child (18 and under) who visits the ER or is admitted to the hospital with an injury from a wheeled sport (bicycle, e-bike, rollerblades, scooter and skateboard).

Safety Quest

Safety Quest is a mobile classroom that provides injury prevention education to 5th graders. In collaboration with Fundación MAPFRE insurance agency, we visit schools, youth programs and community events to promote safety awareness through fun, interactive activities designed for kids.

Email us to learn more about this program or schedule the Safety Quest RV for your classroom or event. You can also visit SafetyQuest.org for more info and to download a free activity book.

Teen Driver Program

Teen RIDE (Reality Intensive Driver’s Education) teaches safe driving to teens who are first-time motor vehicle offenders. The court-referred training program includes presentations and conversations with injury prevention specialists, trauma surgeons and our collaborators at the Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts (BIA-MA). The BIA-MA brings survivors together to share their stories, helping adolescents identify and change risky behaviors behind the wheel.

Injury Prevention for Kids

We provide education and support to keep kids and families safe. Learn more about our injury prevention programs for kids and families.