Preventable injuries are the main culprit sending people to trauma centres across Canada, including in Windsor.
Windsor Regional Hospital is emphasizing the importance of trauma prevention.
Preventable injury, which includes motor vehicle collisions, sports and recreation injuries and seniors’ falls, accounts for 16,000 deaths every year in Canada.
Diane Bradford is the Manager of the Regional Trauma and Injury Prevention Program at Windsor Regional Hospital.
She says almost everything that comes through emergency room doors is preventable.
"Ninety percent of all the injuries that we see are both predictable and preventable. So we could have done something to prevent it. We're one of the 11 lead trauma centre's in the province of Ontario. We see the most severely injured people of our entire region from about Ridgetown, Ontario all the way through to Windsor."
Bradford says the amount of injuries has actually gone up in Windsor-Essex.
"We are about the fifth busiest in the province, so our trauma volumes are actually very high. Of particular concern for us last fiscal year, we saw about an 11% increase in our trauma volume, the most severe of our region."
Bradford adds, injuries from distracted driving are the most troubling for her.
"Distracted driving is very easily prevented, turn your phone off, it's not worth it. I invite someone to come to our trauma centre and just see one injury, it's devastating. Notice it, stop your parents from doing it. Stop your kids from doing it. Stop your neighbours from doing it. We all have a roll to play in this."
Preventable injury kills more Canadian children than any single disease, and more youth than all other causes combined.
- with files from AM800's Gord Bacon