Central Texas Medical Center (CTMC) recently participated in Shattered Dreams, a program encouraging students to prevent drunk driving, at Lehman and San Marcos Baptist high schools. At each high school, students had the opportunity to learn about the dangers of alcohol and how devastating drunk driving can be.
“I think that participating in Shattered Dreams is vital for CTMC because it is an extremely powerful tool in injury prevention,” said Susan Youngblood, CTMC Trauma Coordinator. “If just one teenager who experiences this program decides to never drink and drive, or stops a friend from doing so, it is all worth it.”
For one day, students at each school were selected to be victims in a staged drunk driving accident. The students were then transported to CTMC, one by helicopter and one by ambulance. CTMC employees staged medical examinations and determined that the participants would not live.
“I didn’t think drinking and driving was a big issue before because I didn’t realize the danger of it,” said a student who participated in Shattered Dreams. “But now I think it is and I will try to make sure my friends and I will not do that in the future.”
Shattered Dreams provided CTMC another opportunity to invest in the health, safety and education of local high school students through community outreach programs. Since the beginning of the year, CTMC has invested more than $7,000 in youth-focused programs.
For more information about CTMC and how it is involved in the community, visit ctmc.org and click ‘more’ next to the Community Benefit Report logo.