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N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals to hostThe Phoenix Society’s World Burn Congress 2004
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Burn survivors from some of the most horrific events in recent memory, such as the Rhode Island nightclub fire that killed 100 people and injured more than 200 others, will attend the 16th Annual World Burn Congress.
Sept. 28, 2004
N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals to host
The Phoenix Society’s World Burn Congress 2004
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Burn survivors from some of the most horrific events in recent memory, such as the Rhode Island nightclub fire that killed 100 people and injured more than 200 others, will attend the 16th Annual World Burn Congress.
This year the congress takes place Oct. 13-16 in Research Triangle Park, N.C., hosted by the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at the University of North Carolina Hospitals.
“This is an opportunity for everyone to focus on the problems of improving burn care to the many victims of burn injuries around the world, especially given the recent incidences of mass casualties from terrorist activities,” said Dr. Anthony A. Meyer, chair of the Department of Surgery in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. The Burn Center is a division of the Department of Surgery.
“It also gives us a chance to acknowledge and further train those providers who do this difficult but essential work. We are excited about being able to host this important event,” Meyer said.
The Phoenix Society’s World Burn Congress is an international gathering of burn survivors, their families, health-care providers and firefighters. The annual event, sponsored by the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, Inc., provides many survivors with their first opportunity to discuss the common challenges of a severe burn injury and experience the possibility of life after this trauma. The event provides emotional support and education to those who have suffered a devastating burn injury and those who care for them. The three days are filled with inspirational stories of survival, courage and personal growth.
“The impact of meeting another who has traveled the journey of burn recovery is tremendously healing for many survivors and families,” said Amy Acton, a registered nurse who is also a burn survivor and executive director of The Phoenix Society.
This year’s conference, to be held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center, will feature attendance by burn survivors from the February 2003 nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I. Other burn survivors expected to attend include Dan T. Cathy, president and chief executive officer of Chick fil-A; and survivors who have been treated at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center in recent years, such as those injured in the West Pharmaceuticals plant explosion in Kinston, N.C., in January 2003.
The conference kicks off Wednesday night, Oct. 13, with a gala in the Eric B. Munson Concourse at UNC Hospitals, hosted by the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center and the UNC Health Care System. Attendees will receive a red-carpet welcome when they arrive at UNC Hospitals via firetruck parade.
Then Thursday through Saturday conference attendees will have a wide variety of speakers, panel discussions and breakout sessions to choose from. The conference will conclude with a closing banquet Saturday night, Oct. 16.
The N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals is a 21-bed facility dedicated to providing specialized treatment and rehabilitation to severely burned patients. Since it opened in 1981, it has received national and international acclaim for its patient care, research and educational activities. In 2003, the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center cared for 10 patients burned in an explosion at the West Pharmaceutical Services plant in Kinston, N.C. In previous years the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center has successfully treated large numbers of burn patients injured in disasters such as a collision between an F-16D fighter and a C-130 transport at Pope Air Force Base in 1994, and a fire at the Imperial Foods chicken-processing plant in Hamlet, N.C. in 1991.
The Burn Center also has extensive research, education, prevention and training programs. It is the only specialized burn care facility in North Carolina and the largest one between Baltimore and Augusta, Ga. Last year, the Burn Center handled approximately 650 new admissions and 3,800 clinic visits. More than 1/3 of patients admitted were children.
Burn Center researchers focus on developing improved ways to promote healing, reduce infections and minimize scarring. In addition, the center’s professional education programs boost the quality of emergency care available to burn patients at hospitals across the state. And a nationally recognized outreach effort teaches fire safety and burn prevention to schoolchildren in almost every N.C. county.
The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, Inc. is an international nonprofit organization, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., whose mission is to uplift and inspire anyone affected by the devastation of a burn injury through peer support, education, collaboration and advocacy. The organization takes its name from the legendary bird that lives 500 years and is consumed by flame, but rises again, reborn from its ashes, more brilliant than before. Information about the World Burn Congress and other programs are available online at www.phoenix-society.org.
Note: Members of the news media are welcome to cover the World Burn Congress with the assistance of the conference’s media escorts. To make arrangements for an escort, please call Stephanie Crayton at (919) 966-2860 or (919) 216-3151 (pager).