Burns has been making films for more than 30 years. Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Burns has directed and produced some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made. His 18-and-a-half hour Baseball series is the most-watched series in PBS history. Some of his other landmark works include The Civil War, Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery and Jazz. Burns’ most recent work, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, focuses on the ideas and individuals that helped propel into existence today’s National Parks. Many sports fans will be pleased to know he is currently working on an update to his 1994 epic Baseball.

The WakeMed Foundation hosts this annual recognition event for The Society of 1961 members who are the major supporters of the hospital, having contributed more than $1,350 annually. Previous presenters at the annual dinner include Bob Costas, Cokie and Steve Roberts, Walter Cronkite, Colin Powell, Tom Brokaw and Bob and Lee Woodruff. The proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the expansion of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the recently opened WakeMed Children’s Hospital.

The award is given to a pediatrician who has made exceptional contributions in his/her local community or statewide, and including efforts beyond the practice setting. In addition to his work as a dedicated pediatrician, Dr. Bernstein represented his colleagues and advocated for area children through his service with numerous organizations. Some of these include the American Lung Association, The Autism Society of North Carolina, The Healing Place, Oak Ranch, SouthLight, Inc., the Wake County Board of Mental Health and the Wake County Youth Services Planning Committee.

At WakeMed, he served as President of the Medical Staff, Chair of the Pediatric Department and first-ever Chair of the WakeMed Foundation. He is a current member of the WakeMed Health & Hospitals Board of Directors. Dr. Bernstein has also been active with many clinical committees at WakeMed, including the Medical Executive Staff, the Joint Conference and the Quality Assurance committees.

The only qualifications:

• The parent’s plan must be a family plan that includes dependents
• The parent’s plan must have been in existence when the law passed in March 2010
• The young adult’s employer must not offer insurance

The new law will take effect on September 23 or at the next employee re-enrollment date, depending on the insurance plan.  Companies must provide a 30-day open enrollment period for young adults to join.

Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat

Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat made a special stop to visit pediatric patients and their families at the WakeMed Children’s Hospital this week. The mischievous monkey and his friends swing onto the stage at RBC Center in Raleigh this weekend.

Providing this service to area pediatricians enables WakeMed to work in partnership with providers to ensure improved care for patients.  Having additional information at their fingertips allows pediatricians to make better-informed decisions regarding follow-up care.

To read the full-story, visit  WakeMed Offers Real-Time Clinical Information to Area Pediatricians Using Axial Exchange Solution in its New Children’s Hospital.

WakeMed Injury Prevention is teaming up with Safe Kids Wake County to bring you Battling the Bad Guys, a safety event just for kids. On Thursday, August 19 at Koka Booth Amphitheatre, fight back with a vengeance against bumps, bruises and bacteria at this free event the whole family is sure to enjoy.

Starting at 7 pm, kids will learn about safety through games and activities all about staying safe while having fun. The event will feature water safety, bike safety, backpack safety, seatbelt fit tests, tips on calling 911, proper hand washing rules and combating germs at school.

Emergency vehicles from the Cary Police Department, Cary Fire Department and WakeMed Mobile will be open for tours, and kids will have a chance to meet the brave first responders who keep our community safe. They’ll even get to meet Twinkle, the WakeMed Children’s mascot, and Sparky the Fire Dog.

To wrap up this monster of an event, Koka Booth Amphitheatre will show its final film of the “Movies By Moonlight” summer movie series, Monsters vs. Aliens. Movie tickets are $3 for adults and children 12 and under are free. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to injury prevention programs at WakeMed Children’s Hospital.

Check out the WakeMed Voices blog for great tips for keeping kids safe when traveling to and from school.  Stay tuned to www.childrencantwait.org for even more info from our Injury Prevention team about safety for your children.

• Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?
• Can you buy an entire chess set in a pawnshop?
• Can you get cavities in your dentures if you use too much artificial sweetener?
• Could crop-circles be the work of a cereal killer?
• Did Noah keep his bees in archives?
• Do cemetery workers prefer the graveyard shift?
• Do clowns wear really big socks?
• Do files get embarrassed when they get unzipped?
• Do fish get thirsty?
• Do hummingbirds hum because they don’t know the words?
• Do hungry crows have ravenous appetites?
• Do people in Australia call the rest of the world ‘up over’?
• Do pilots take crash-courses?
• Do Roman paramedics refer to IV’s as “4’s”?
• Do Scottish Terriers get Scotch Tape worms?
• Do stars clean themselves with meteor showers?
• Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?

Borrowed from http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/stupid.html.

• Have you visited the Downtown Raleigh Farmer’s Market yet?  On Wednesdays, from 10 am to 2 pm in City Plaza in downtown Raleigh, you can find fresh, locally grown produce, as well as chef demonstrations, kid-friendly activities, tastings, and live music! 
• ReConStruction, the 10th Occasional North American Science Fiction Convention will be held August 5 – August 8 at the Raleigh Convention Center.  Children 6 and under are free (with a paid adult), children ages 7 – 12 at a reduced price.
• On Friday, August 6, from 6 – 9 pm, join the First Friday Gallery Walk and enjoy a self-guided tour of local galleries, art studios, museums, and more.  Maps available for free at each location identified with a First Friday flag.  Also available during August 6 First Friday event: LOVEBUG: The Great Draw-Off (watch locally renowned artists compete to make a bug), Tell IT! (hear real-life stories – $5 fee at the door), and the Wing, Leaf, Petal Opening Reception (free art exhibit and painting sale with wine and cheese reception).
• Music on the Porch – Friday, August 6 at 7 pm, enjoy free, live music and large family kid zone at Seaboard Station – rain or shine.  Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy the evening!
• Tools & Toys: The History of Play – Saturday, August 7 from 2 – 3 pm at the Raleigh City Museum.  Kids will have a chance to play historic games and make a “buzz saw” toy to take home.
• History Corner: Herbs – Wednesday, August 11, from 10 – 11 am learn about the many uses for herbs at the North Carolina Museum of History garden.  Free, but call 919-807-7992 to register.
• August 7, from 2 – 5 pm, join the Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tour.  A great way to get to know some of your local eateries and talk to chefs and owners.  Cost $39.50 per person.

While ATVs, whether for recreation or an occupation, are part of daily life for many across the United States – Safe Kids Wake County recommends that children under the age of 16 should never ride on or operate ATVs of any size – including youth-sized ATVs.

ATVs are inherently difficult to operate, and children do not have the cognitive and physical abilities to drive or ride these vehicles safely. If an individual is not mature enough to drive a car with safety belts and traffic control devices on a paved road, that individual is probably not capable enough to drive a powerful open-seat vehicle at speeds up to 70 miles per hour over rough terrain.”

Nationwide, approximately 130 children under the age of 16 die each year as a result of ATV-related injuries, and an estimated 40,000 children under the age of 16 are seriously injured each year in ATV-related incidents. While a helmet can reduce the risk of severe head injuries, there are no safety devices that adequately protect against other injuries commonly sustained while riding ATVs.

The number of ATV-related injuries per year more than doubled between 1993 and 2006. In 2007, children accounted for one out of four ATV-related injuries. Beginning in 1998, the ATV industry observed voluntary guidelines restricting the sale of adult-sized ATVs (with engines bigger than 90 cc) for use by children under age 16, but compliance testing from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) showed numerous instances of noncompliance with the voluntary standard.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, signed into law in 2008, made the voluntary standard mandatory as of April 2009. The new law prohibits companies from recommending, marketing, or selling new adult-sized ATVs for use by persons under the age of 16. The law uses maximum speed, rather than engine size, for determining the age-appropriateness of ATVs and requires that new ATVs include labels and hangtags with certain safety information, including age recommendations. However, the law still permits the manufacture of youth-sized ATVs, which pose inherent safety risks.

Previous efforts to make ATVs safer for kids have proved inadequate and have not kept children out of the trauma room. Children can be seriously injured even on ATVs manufactured and marketed for kids.”

Rollovers, collisions and ejections involving ATVs can cause instantly fatal head injuries as well as serious nonfatal injuries to the head, spinal cord and abdomen. A child riding an ATV is four times more likely to be seriously injured than a rider over the age of 16.

This may not be the advice a lot of parents want to hear, especially if ATVs are commonly used by friends and family, but it’s the conclusion drawn from extensive and ongoing review of the data. The opinion of safety experts is that there is simply no way to make ATV riding a safe activity for children.”

For more information about ATVs and outdoor recreation safety visit www.safekids.org.

Safe Kids Wake County works to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the leading cause of death and disability to children ages 1 to 14. Safe Kids Wake County is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. Safe Kids Wake County was founded in 1996 and is led by WakeMed Health & Hospitals.

His fundraising began in 2003 at age 11, with a golf tournament for children ages 7 to 18, and he now runs two tournaments each year.  Each child is asked to raise $100 by getting sponsorships from family and friends, but as much as$50,000 has been raised by just one girl.

The tournament is unique in that each one has both a kids committee along with an adult committee, allowing the kids to help in the process by designing the t-shirts, selecting fundraising prizes and helping to plan the day’s program.

One person CAN make a difference.  

You can make a difference, too, by running your own fundraiser to help support the WakeMed Children’s Hospital -  sign up right now!