Terrebonne General Health System Receives Funds to Expand Sudden Impact Program

Terrebonne General Health System received funds from the Lafourche Parish Council to expand the Sudden Impact Program. Terrebonne General Health System is the only hospital in the region to offer the Sudden Impact distracted driving program, a researched-based, data-driven prevention program to decrease the number of injuries and fatalities related to motor vehicle crashes. The Sudden Impact program is taught over a calendar school year and consists of classroom training, a mock crash, and a mock trial. Terrebonne General is dedicated to impacting the youth of our community and offers a dedicated Community Nurse Educator to provide this program to local high schools and first-year college students.

The Sudden Impact presentation is a robust hospital-based, sophomore-level program. The medical and law enforcement team provides detailed information on laws, injuries, alcohol use, crash dynamics, and statistics and shows the consequences. Emphasis is placed on measures to prevent the crash, establish communication with parents regarding impairment and develop a plan to offer alternatives to driving under the influence.

The Mock Crash portion of the program includes an outdoor theatrical production of a motor vehicle accident highlighting poor decisions, driving under the influence, texting while driving, lack of seat belt usage, and the resulting complications. The participants re-enact the preventable consequences due to poor choices as a driver or passenger.

The Foundation for Terrebonne General and Terrebonne General President and CEO, Phyllis Peoples, would like to thank Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson III and the Lafourche Parish Council for their support of the Sudden Impact Distracted Driving Program. "The donation will allow Sudden Impact to be offered to all Lafourche Parish high school students and Nicholls State University freshmen, "explained Peoples. The program is a collaboration of Terrebonne General Health System, University Medical Center, Louisiana State Police, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, and DOTD.

Photo Caption:

Pictured L to R: Elmy Savoie, Executive Director of the Foundation for Terrebonne General; State Trooper Ross Brennan; Kalie Gisclair, Terrebonne General Community Clinical Educator; Phyllis Peoples, Terrebonne General President and CEO; and Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson.