In Texas, motor vehicle crashes are often the No. 1 reason people seek care in emergency rooms. In order to be designated as trauma centers, hospitals must offer injury prevention programs that teach people how to stay safe and avoid crashes and other causes of trauma. Texas Reality Education for Drivers (RED) has made a name for itself traveling around the state to teach people about the dangers of driving impaired or distracted. And Innocorp, ltd has proven to be just the right partner — offering relevant products and educational materials that have made a true impact on thousands of people throughout the state of Texas.
Texas RED, which began in 2008, is affiliated with Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Hillcrest, a major trauma center in Waco, Texas. In 2011, the organization decided to take its injury prevention programs statewide in hopes of reaching many more people. Dan Worley, Texas RED’s program coordinator, first learned about Innocorp after borrowing a pair of Fatal Vision® Impairment Goggles from another group. He appreciated how the goggles allowed him to make his presentation much more interactive, and he promptly bought his own pair.
Over the years, Texas RED has used many of Innocorp’s products, including the intoxiclock® Pro, the Distract-a-Match® Multitask Challenge, and the Fatal Vision® Marijuana Simulation Experience. “When I’m spending our money to buy products I can use for demonstrations, I want to be sure they are of a good value,” Dan says. “Innocorp creates very high-quality products. Other companies make similar products, but they don’t have any research behind them. However, there is enough testing and research behind Innocorp products that we can use them proudly and say there is evidence that they work to affect behavior change.”
Making an impact
While Texas RED does work with schools, community groups and underage drinking coalitions, the majority of the programs it offers are hospital-based. Many of the participants are people who have made drinking- or drug-related mistakes, and are referred to the program to learn about the potential consequences of the decisions they make. Recently, Texas RED was at a hospital in a college town, presenting to students in their early 20s who had been cited for public intoxication or other related offenses. Dan used intoxiclock® PRO, which visually illustrates how a person’s weight, gender, drink of choice and drinking rate all matter in how long it takes to metabolize alcohol to zero blood alcohol concentration (BAC). As the participants inputted their individual experiences to learn what their BAC was at a specific time, they were amazed. “You could see it on their faces,” says Dan. “They had no idea the impact that those drinks would have on their ability to safely operate a motor vehicle, even hours after they had stopped drinking. It was very impactful.”
The value of training
In September 2017, Dan and his team decided to hire Innocorp to come out to Texas for a two-day training session. He and his co-workers had discovered that they were stuck when trying to brainstorm new ideas for impactful demonstrations using the Fatal Vision® Goggles and other Innocorp products. He invited some of Texas RED’s community partners to join them for the training session, which was led by Deb Kusmec, chief operating officer for Innocorp, and Norma Sower, one of the company’s trainers. “The training was worth every penny we spent,” says Dan. “It has become a lot easier for us to know with confidence how to use some of the products to their greatest effectiveness.”
For example, Dan says he had never used the “tunnel vision” component of the Fatal Vision® Goggles until after the training session. Users can place overlays inside the goggles to simulate the tunnel vision a person experiences when he becomes very intoxicated. During the activities suggested by Innocorp, a participant stands in the center of the room while wearing the goggles and other people walk up next to him. He doesn’t notice them until they have walked past. “It’s an aspect of impairment that most people have never thought of,” says Dan. “It’s another opportunity to get people out of their seats and participating in an interactive activity.”
Good customer service
Dan says he continues to work with Innocorp because the company is so responsive to his needs. If he ever has any questions about the products, customer service representatives go out of their way to answer them. “I have a lot of confidence that the company is going to do what it says it’s going to do,” he says.