September is upon us and with it come cooler fall weather, a return to school and, this year, Safe Homes Awareness Month.

Earlier this year, Gov. Mills and the Maine Legislature established the Safe Homes Program and designated September as Safe Homes Awareness Month. The program is administered by the Maine Department of Public Safety with the goal of supporting safe storage of prescription drugs, firearms and dangerous weapons in homes. This mission is to be accomplished by “providing educational information and materials and grants.” The program has an associated fund to support its efforts, with the goal of including public and private sources.

Safety and prevention are dear to me as a pediatric intensive care physician at Maine Medical Center. I can only cheer for a month dedicated to safety.

In the first half of this year, more than 20 children were admitted to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital PICU because of injuries related to the lack of safe storage. As distressing as this number is, it is dwarfed by the number of additional children admitted to the inpatient units and seen at emergency departments and urgent cares around the state. The emotional, physical and real costs of such exposures are considerable.

I ask Gov. Mills and our Legislature to increase funding for the program and to increase its visibility around the state. This is the first year of a program with laudable goals. In the years to come, I hope that it can realize its potential.

Kristine Pleacher
Portland