UCI Health helps educate students about dangers of driving under the influence

Collaborates with local high school, fire, police on Every 15 Minutes impaired driving prevention program

IN THE NEWS: Every day, more than 30 people die in drunk driving accidents, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Every 42 minutes someone loses their life to drunk driving, according to the UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center.

It is for this reason that UCI Health collaborated with Servite High School and Anaheim Fire & Rescue on Every 15 Minutes, a two-day program that challenges high school juniors and seniors to think about the consequences of drinking and driving, personal safety and the responsibility of making mature decisions. This is the first time the program has returned to an Orange County high school since before the pandemic.

As part of the program, first responders staged a simulated DUI crash scene on a street adjacent to the Servite High School campus on March 30. Students wore realistic makeup that resembled crash injuries to show how impaired driving can affect victims, families and the community.

One of the injured students was taken to the emergency department at UCI Health, where clinicians, including nurses and trauma surgeons, simulated what happens when someone injured in a drunk driving crash arrives at the hospital. Dr. Sigrid Burruss, a trauma surgeon and surgical critical care physician at UCI Health, spoke to Spectrum News about the program.

“UCI Health has collaborated with Servite High School and Anaheim Fire on the Every 15 Minutes Program to help youth understand the consequences of driving drunk, including life-threatening traumatic injuries and even death.

Unfortunately, the rate of drunk-driving accidents, along with related injuries, has not decreased in the last 30 years – it’s critical that people of all ages understand the dangers of driving while under the influence.”

On the day of the UCI Health simulation, filmed one week prior by Servite High School, Burruss, along with Dr. Ryan Gibney, medical director of the emergency department at UCI Health — Irvine, along with surgeon Mallory Jebbia and nurse Todd Costa, performance improvement coordinator with the Trauma Services Department, met the Servite High School student upon arrival.

The clinical team immediately jumped into action, simulating checking his vitals, evaluating his injuries and determining the best course of care, which led to a mock intubation to help his body recover. The student’s parents also visited the room, along with a member of the clergy. A film crew captured everything.

Watch the video

This local Every 15 Minutes Program is a partnership with the California Highway Patrol, Anaheim Fire & Rescue and UCI Health. Funding support is provided through the California Office of Traffic Safety via grants administered by the California Highway Patrol.

UCI Health –– Orange is the county’s only certified Level I adult trauma center and Level II pediatric trauma center and provides the most advanced care to people of all ages with life-threatening injuries.

UCI Health trauma, burn and critical care specialists deliver lifesaving care around the clock, 365 days a year. It is home to region’s leading experts in the treatment of all critical and traumatic injuries.

Additional emergency department locations include UCI Health –– Irvine, UCI Health –– Fountain Valley, UCI Health –– Lakewood, UCI Health –– Los Alamitos and UCI Health –– Placentia Linda.