Summer is steadily approaching which means more families will be taking their children to the pool for some fun in the sun. FastMed Urgent Care is here to provide some water safety tips to keep you and your loved ones safe!

Drowning is a leading cause of death among Arizona children ages 1‐4. Arizona for example, has on average 90 drowning deaths a year with a majority of those deaths being in the warmer summer months between April to August (Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona).

According to the Center for Disease and Control Prevention more than 4,000 people die annually from drowning. Drowning is a cause for concern when it comes to warmer weather states such as California and Arizona.

More than half of drowning incidents occur in swimming pools, whether it be at a community pool or one located in a family’s backyard. These situations are preventable with a couple of safety measures.

• Never leave a child unsupervised in or around a pool deck
     o If you must be away from the pool make sure to either take your child with you or have another adult present to supervise your child
• If the child is just beginning to swim make sure he/she is wearing an approved floatation device (life jacket, water wings, etc.)
     o Children above the age of three are recommended to begin registering for swimming classes
• Remember to apply water-proof sunscreen while swimming, the sun’s rays reflect off the water and can intensify the burning

By following these safety tips it will allow you and your family to have a fun and safe summer season!

Reference: Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona

FastMed Urgent care is looking forward to the presence of BrieAnna Hester and Johna Alexandria Edmonds at our free community event this Saturday, May 5 in Durham.  BrieAnna is Miss Durham 2012 and is a junior at Meredith College perusing a degree in Dance. She has been actively involved in volunteering since she was a child.  In February, 2011, BrieAnna received the President’s Volunteer Lifetime achievement award for donating over 4000 hours of volunteer hours.  In June, 2011 she was the recipient of the Miss America Community Service Award.  Making history for Meredith College, BrieAnna will perform a solo at the National College Dance Festival at the end of May. This will be the first time Meredith College has ever been represented at the Nationals. In June, BrieAnna will compete for Miss North Carolina with all hopes of becoming  the second Miss Durham to be crowned Miss North Carolina and the second Miss North Carolina to be crowned Miss America.

Johna Alexandria Edmonds is a senior at North Carolina State University pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting with a concentration in Financial Analysis and a minor in Spanish Language and Literatures.  She is the reigning Miss Garner 2012, promoting her personal platform, Readers to Leaders: Promoting Literacy in America’s Youth.  Her platform emphasizes service projects that educate not only students but also teachers and parents on the importance of literacy among our state and nation’s young people. She plans to compete in the 75th Miss North Carolina Scholarship pageant in June 2012. Johna is an active member of Alpha Kappa Psi, professional business fraternity and Beta Alpha Psi, accounting fraternity. She has taught English in the Dominican Republic on an Alternative Spring Break trip with NC State’s Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service, and has also studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a Spanish language-intensive university for a semester. She recently worked as a Winter Tax Intern for KPMG Raleigh and was selected for the KPMG Global Internship program where she traveled to work in Paris, France during the spring 2012 semester with some of the firm’s largest and best-known clients. Ultimately, she plans to continue her studies to earn her Masters of Accounting at the North Carolina State Poole College’s Jenkins Graduate School, pass the Certified Public Accountant examination and work for one of the Big Four accounting firms.

Join us this Saturday to meet BrieAnna & Johna in person and take photographs with them.  Our community event will be held at 7010 NC Hwy 751 in Durham from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. and will include complimentary face painting, a balloon artist,  a gaming truck, pizza, ice cream, a meet and greet with BrieAnna and racecar driver Jeff Fultz and prizes and give-a-ways.  Click here for more information. We hope to see you there!

April 20 – This May, treat you and your family to a neighborhood event on May 5, from 11 am to 3 pm!

FastMed will putting on a community fair event for families to enjoy that will have something for everyone. For the kids, FastMed will have face painting and will also be making balloon art such as butterflies, monkeys, frogs and other animals. There will be a game truck with video games and a corn hole contest prizes such as t-shirts. Lunch is free with pizza and ice cream being served.

Don’t miss photos and autographs with:

• Miss Durham 2012, BrieAnna Hester
• Miss UNC Pembroke, Jocelyn Hunt
• Miss UNC Pembroke’s outstanding teen, Elizabeth Lee O’Brien
• FastMed race car driver, Jeff Fultz, with his car
• The Durham Bulls mascot Wool E. Bull
• NC Tar Heels mascot Rameses

Parents can get a tour of the state of the art new urgent care center, get their blood pressure checks, and talk with our medical provider and practice manager, Bruce Bear, PA-C, who will see patients at the urgent care clinic.

“It is exciting to be part of a great health care team providing urgent and after-hours care in the Durham/Chapel Hill community.” Said Bruce. “With our location on Route 751 near South Point Mall, we are positioned to provide great convenient and fast service to our patients and to contribute to the community at large. I look forward to meeting and helping people from the local area.”

The event will be held at the new Durham FastMed location, formerly PromptMed Urgent Care, next to Rite Aid Pharmacy at the intersection of 751 and 54. If you are coming from i40 take exit 274 north. Look for the street team and festivities!

For information about the event see their flier at www.fastmed.com or call.

Contact:
Reuel Heyden | Dir. Of Community Relations
FastMed Urgent Care
Cell: 919.550.0821×1016
Email: r.heyden@fastmed.com