Media Advisory: NASCAR Team Owner Richard Childress to Speak to Congress

Media Advisory: NASCAR Team Owner Richard Childress to Speak at Congressional Pediatric Trauma Briefing on May 24

Legendary NASCAR team owner and Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Richard Childress will discuss the No. 1 killer of children in the U.S. and why his family started the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma to address the epidemic.  He will be joined by Bob Gfeller, who lost his son, Matthew Gfeller, to a traumatic brain injury.

WHAT:  The Congressional Pediatric Trauma Briefing
WHEN:  Scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, 2016, at 3:00 pm
WHERE:  2123 Rayburn House Office Building
WHY:  Discussion on the nation’s pediatric trauma epidemic.
WHO:  Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-NC) are co-chairing the caucus

Life-threatening injury is the number one killer of children in this country. It claims the lives of more children than all other causes combined. Trauma can strike from accidents, drowning, and burns, often during recreational activities and sports. Most severely injured children are hospitalized and require surgery and lengthy rehabilitation. Policy leadership is essential to address the rate at which children are dying from traumatic injuries and life-saving solutions are needed.

In 2008, Richard and Judy Childress teamed up with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center to create The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Childress Institute is focused on funding research and medical education throughout the United States to improve treatment and raise public awareness of pediatric trauma.

The pediatric trauma experts participating in the briefing will include:

• Bob Gfeller, Executive Director, Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma
• Valerie Maholmes, Ph.D., Chief, Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, National Institutes of Health
• David Adelson, Director, Barrow Neurological Institute, Chief, Pediatric Neurosurgery/Children’s Neurosciences, Phoenix Children’s Hospital
• Diana Fendya, R.N., Trauma/Acute Care Specialist, EMSC National Resource Center, Children’s National Medical Center
• Barbara A. Gaines, Clinical Director, Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
• John Petty, Director, Pediatric Trauma Program, Brenner Children’s Hospital/Wake Forest Baptist Health

The May 24 pediatric trauma briefing is an opportunity for Members of Congress and staff to learn more about the pediatric trauma epidemic and discuss next steps to support the nation’s trauma system and reduce traumatic injury.  Please address questions to Tatum Gibson at Tatum.Gibson@mail.house.gov or (202) 225-3715.

To schedule media with Childress, Gfeller or other pediatric trauma experts, please contact Kara Thompson at (336) 491-9766 or kathomps@wakehealth.edu. For more information, visit SaveInjuredKids.org.