Burn Awarness Week

BURN AWARENESS WEEK -- (Extensions of Remarks - February 18, 2005)

SPEECH OF
HON. RICHARD E. NEAL
OF MASSACHUSETTS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2005

· Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to the attention of my colleagues the activities of the American Burn Association (ABA) regarding its accomplishments and dedication to the care of burn victims. The ABA works tirelessly in its efforts involving the first line of defense: the prevention of burn injuries. February 6th to the 12th is Burn Awareness Week so it is a fitting time to acknowledge the work of an organization devoted to this challenging field of medicine. The American Burn Association has more than 3,500 members in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Members include physicians, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, researchers, social workers, firefighters, emergency personnel, and, the underpinning of burn research, hospitals with burn centers. The multidisciplinary membership enhances its ability to work toward common goals with other organizations on educational/prevention programs.

· Each year, the ABA and other burn treatment entities work on a different burn prevention theme. The theme of Burn Awareness Week this year is the prevention of electrical burn injuries. The number of electrical injuries cared for in hospitals in the US is estimated at as many as 50,000; the cost of these injuries on the US economy is estimated at over one billion dollars per year. Many injuries and deaths can be prevented through an understanding of the dangers of power lines, electrical appliances, extension cords, and lightning. In the past, the ABA has sponsored Burn Awareness weeks focusing on Home Safety, Senior Burn Safety, Prevention of Gasoline Burns, and Scald Prevention, among others. Well over a million people are injured each year from burn related incidents and accidents.

· In addition to its traditional responsibilities, in recent years the ABA has worked hard to improve emergency response systems and to incorporate burn care into disaster preparedness systems in the country in light of new threats to the United States. In addition, countless ABA physicians, nurses, and health care workers are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to treat America's injured soldiers.

· The American Burn Association stimulates and supports burn-related research, education, care, rehabilitation, and prevention through a variety of educational programs, fellowships, research, teaching, and publications, including the leading peer-reviewed, scientific journal in the burn field, the Journal of Burn Care & Rehabilitation.

· ABA membership is in virtually every state in the union and countless congressional districts. When the ABA holds its annual Legislative Leadership Conference in Washington April 5th through the 7th, I hope you will take the time to meet with your ABA constituents so that they may tell you more about their work in your hometown.

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