KEARNEY — Tracy Dethlefs can’t think of a better way to cap off her nursing career than to promote safety.
Now, as a trauma outreach coordinator at CHI Health Good Samaritan at 10 E. 31st St., she is educating the public about drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse; the value of bicycle helmets; poison prevention; sports concussions; and much more.
“After 21 years, it’s good to be on the front end of trauma and do something pro-active in an effort to prevent it,” Dethlefs said.
She took the part-time position in July, Her days are as diverse as the injuries she hopes to prevent. Much of her work is with children in the Kearney Public Schools.
For Red Ribbon Week in October, she partnered with a nurse who does outreach at the Good Samaritan Oncology Center and talked about dangers of drugs, alcohol and tobacco to third-grade classrooms in Kearney.
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With the hospital’s SafeKids Platte Valley Coordinator Karen Triplett, Dethlefs has talked to third-graders in Kearney about the importance of bike helmets and distributed certificates good for a free bike helmet at Kearney’s two bicycle shops.
She also invited Buffalo County children in third through fifth grades to make posters about poison prevention. Working with the Nebraska Regional Poison Center in Omaha, Dethlefs spearheaded the contest here. The winner earns a $25 gift certificate and moves on to the national poster contest.
“I enjoy teaching and working with kids. Third grade is a good age. I’m just trying to prevent bad things from happening,” she said.
She reaches out to teens, too. She manned a booth about the dangers of drunken driving at the University of Nebraska at Kearney last fall. She also participated at the Oct. 30 trick-or-treating in Downtown on the Bricks.
Working with the Nebraska Sports Concussion Network, Dethlefs visits schools to talk about concussions during sports events. “We’ve talked to more than 3,000 kids in 30 schools in the area,” she said.
Today, before each sports season, schools test each athlete in basketball, football and other contact sports and give them a verbal baseline neurocognitive test that authorities can refer to in case that athlete suffers a possible concussion during a game.
This spring, Dethlefs will lead a Live To See The Sun Rise promotion aimed at preventing alcohol abuse during proms. She is working with area florists to distribute bright yellow cards with each corsage or boutonnière to remind teens to stay sober during prom weekend.
She reaches out to older citizens, too. She appeared at the Good Sam booth at the Prime senior festival in October.
Born in Loup City, Dethlefs graduated from nursing school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and began working as a nurse in the regional burn and wound center at CHI Health St. Elizabeth in Lincoln in 1993. Although she returned to Loup City nearly nine years ago, she still makes the 150-mile one-way drive to that job on weekends and holidays.
Dethlefs also teaches on occasion at the UNMC College of Nursing — Kearney Division. She has three children and four stepchildren ranging in age from 11 to 26, along with a herd of 25 cattle that she and her farmer husband raise.
Triplett said she admires Delhlefs’s passion, compassion, energy, knowledge and eagerness to learn. “She has a great commitment to preventing injuries. She is especially interested in addressing the issues of teen drivers and distracted drivers.”
Dethlefs has immersed herself in her new job with enthusiasm and satisfaction. “I also like the support of a faith-based organization like Good Sam. It’s a very homey place, with a very welcoming staff,” she said. “In this job, I get a great response from kids. We let kids feel like they’re part of something. They love that.”
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