Doctor says a helmet saved 6-year olds life in ski accident

ST. PAUL, Minn. Dec. 15, 2009 - Julia Griggs, a 6-year-old ski accident victim, will leave Regions Hospital and Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare today after a helmet saved her life, according to her doctor. Dr. Michael McGonigal, medical director of the trauma program at Regions Hospital, and the family of the child held a news conference today to discuss Julia's injuries and how a helmet saved the girl after she skied into a tree head-on the evening of Thursday, Dec. 10. Following her accident, Julia was transferred from Regions to Gillette on Dec. 11 and has been receiving inpatient care and rehabilitation therapy since.

Dr. McGonigal said that the impact was so great the girl broke two bones in her leg in two places, broke her nose and had several facial injuries, but without a helmet the situation wouldve been much worse.

Julia, with her parents by her side, spoke to reporters today holding up her pink cast and American Girl doll. She said she doesn't mind that her parents make her wear a helmet. Julias parents, Heather and Bill Griggs, were both interviewed and said they were so thankful that she is going to be just fine. Heather said that her children have worn helmets for everything from biking to skiing from a very young age.

Regions Hospital and Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare partner to operate the only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in upper Midwest. In fact, on Thursday, Julia's ambulance was diverted to Regions because of its Level I Pediatric Trauma status.

About the Level I Pediatric Trauma Center
Regions Hospital and Gillette partner to operate the only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center certified by the American College of Surgeons in the Upper Midwest. There are only 32 certified pediatric trauma centers in the U.S. and only 18 other Level I Pediatric Trauma Centers. The next closest is in Milwaukee.

As a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, Regions and Gillette have specially trained teams of healthcare providers, available 24/7 for critically injured children, especially moderate to severe trauma cases.

These services include:

• Gillette's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
• Gillette's Center for Pediatric Rehabilitation, one of only 3 pediatric programs in the nation to be accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF)
• Access to pediatric specialists critical to the initial stabilization and long-term management of pediatric trauma patients

---

About Regions Hospital
Regions Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center and teaching hospital serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin for more than 130 years. Regions is a private, non-profit hospital providing outstanding care in womens health, heart, cancer, surgery, orthopaedics, neuroscience, burn, emergency care and more. Regions is part of the HealthPartners family of care. Additional information is available at regionshospital.com.

About Gillette Childrens Specialty Healthcare
Gillette, an independent, not-for-profit hospital and clinics, is internationally recognized for its work in the diagnosis and treatment of children and young adults who have disabilities or complex medical needs, such as cerebral palsy, complex orthopaedic conditions, craniofacial anomalies, neurological conditions, brain and spinal cord injuries, spina bifida and juvenile arthritis. Gillette provides services to the community in St. Paul, Maple Grove, Burnsville, Minnetonka, Duluth and Willmar. To learn more, visit www.gillettechildrens.org.

Regions Contact: Pat Lund and Jessica Flannigan
Cell: 612-618-1273
Pager: 651-629-0411


Gillette Contact: Molly Snyder and Cate Pardo
Cell: 651-245-8489 / 651-755-0185

Pager: 612-580-2192 vince.rivard@healthpartners.com