Salinas Valley Health Participates in 'Every 15 Minutes' Education Program

Media Contact: Karina Rusk
831-759-1843

Salinas Valley Health (Salinas Valley Health) participated in the Marina Police Department’s Every 15 Minutes education effort. The program’s goal is to educate high school students about the dangers of drinking and driving. On Tuesday, Marina High School students watched a locally produced video depicting a drunk driving crash, victims going to the ER and the deadly consequences of driving drunk.

A portion of the Every 15 Minutes video was shot in the emergency room at Salinas Valley Health Medical Center. Emergency Room staff participated in a simulation where a teenage girl is brought to the ER suffering life threatening injuries after being involved in a car crash caused by a drunk driver. The young victim succumbs to her injuries and the girl’s grandmother has the difficult task of identifying the body.

“Every 15 Minutes is a powerful program and we are proud to partner with Marina Police to make it as impactful as possible,” says Carla Spencer, RN, Nursing Director Emergency Services. “One of our ER physicians and several registered nurses participated in the scenario. We were at the rally to watch student’s reaction to the video and I believe the message will help save lives.”

The program name is based on the estimate that every 15 minutes someone in the United States is injured or killed in an alcohol related crash. The Marina Police Department hopes the video will deter students from drinking and driving.

“Our goal is to educate students about making responsible choices,” says Marina Police Detective Pablo Andrade, who is overseeing the Every 15 Minutes Project. “We’re grateful to Salinas Valley Memorial for partnering with us on this important project.”

A crash scene was set up at Marina High School and in addition to the emergency room activity and grieving relatives, the video includes a mock funeral and a court scene where a judge sentences the student who caused the accident, to prison.