Thousands of Texas children are safer while riding bikes, scooters, and skateboarding, thanks to an idea a Texas physician had decades ago to give children helmets. As a result, Hard Hats for Little Heads, the Texas Medical Association’s (TMA’s) longest-running outreach program, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in October. San Angelo pain specialist Larry Driver, MD, started the program in 1994 after a child he knew was injured in a bike accident while not wearing a helmet.
Decades later, the program is still going strong.
“We can be gratified in knowing that we have really made a major impact in helping those kids avoid a potentially dramatic injury with long-term, far-reaching consequences,” Dr. Driver said in a news release.
Physicians, medical students, and TMA Alliance members of TMA’s advocacy and outreach organization of physicians and spouses, host free bicycle helmet giveaway events, particularly in rural and underserved areas across the state, to encourage kids to stay active and to do so safely. They properly fit children for their helmets, a key factor for protection, and instruct them and their families on the importance of wearing head protection.
Over the past 30 years, TMA members and volunteers have hosted more than 2,000 Hard Hats events and distributed more than 400,000 helmets to kids. As many as 1,400 physicians have hosted helmet giveaway events in their communities during that span.
Pediatrician Stephen Ponder, MD, who runs a free clinic for children in Temple, has participated in the Hard Hats program for 5 years. Along with helping uninsured and underinsured children get medical care, he also makes sure they are riding their bikes safely. He enjoys seeing kids get fitted for their helmets and believes it is a valuable program for the community.
“In the DNA of any pediatrician resides the gene for considerations of the safety of children and teenagers,” said Dr. Ponder. “That’s why we promote preventative care. And there’s nothing more exemplary of that than the Hard Hats for Little Heads program that is trying to prevent the occurrence of a significant head injury on a young child.”
Eddie Patton Jr., MD, is a neurologist in Houston and chair of TMA’s Council on Health Promotion, which oversees the Hard Hats program. He recalls a patient who had an accident while riding a bicycle, without a helmet. “This patient ended up having some pretty severe and significant brain injuries,” said Dr. Patton. He said the injuries could have been less serious if the person was wearing a helmet.
Dr. Patton believes the Hard Hats program provides an important service to the community.
“By protecting the brain through helmets, it helps to prevent some of these big brain issues like concussions and even post-concussion syndrome,” he said. Dr. Patton is planning to host his first Hard Hats event in the coming months.
Dallas family physician Amanda Mohammed-Strait, MD, says she is always looking for ways to give back to her community. She recently hosted her first Hard Hats helmet giveaway event at a local school. She distributed 200 helmets to kids who would have otherwise gone without.
The excited children asked a lot of questions about the importance of wearing a helmet. “Students leave with a lot of information to even educate their caregivers, and it felt like a real big win,” she said.
After every Hard Hats event, Dr. Ponder says the smiles of the children who have received the helmets stay with him and inspire him to make the time to host more helmet giveaway events.
