Libertyville hospital has sobering message for high school students during Trauma Day event

Students heard a sobering message about distracted driving Friday while attending in Trauma Day at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

It was the second year in a row the hospital has hosted the day, and officials said they hope it can become an annual event.

"The main focus is injury prevention in teenagers where injury is the number one cause of death," said Dr. William Watson, trauma director at Condell. "We focus a lot on distracted driving, whether it's texting, drugs, alcohol, or having too many people in the car,"

About 70 students from Libertyville and Carmel High School attended the event. They split into groups of 10 and rotated through several stations to watch mock situations and hear from hospital staff.

The Flight for Life crew was on hand with a helicopter tour on the roof of the hospital.

Representatives from Libertyville Police Department had students will wear goggles simulating a driving-under-the-influence experience as they tried to walk a DUI line.

Other stations included suturing, a laparoscopic simulator, respiratory therapy and emergency and intensive care rooms.

"We are introducing them to the hospital if they do have some interest in medicine," Watson said. "This is a phenomenal hospital with phenomenal outcomes."