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CLEVELAND – The Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, a partnership between the medical school and University Hospitals, are celebrating the grand opening of their newly renovated Visual Sciences Research Center. Festivities will take place at 4 today, October 29, in the Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital Performance Area and Hall.

"Overall, these newly-renovated facilities will enable an expansion of our vision research efforts as the leading vision research center in Ohio and one of the leading centers nationally," said Jonathan H. Lass, M.D., the Charles I. Thomas Professor of Ophthalmology and chair of the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the School of Medicine and University Hospitals Case Medical Center. "This new center will help us to develop even newer methods to prevent and/or treat blinding disorders like cataract, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and blindness from infections involving the cornea and retina."

CLEVELAND – The Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital Injury Prevention Center and Safe Kids Greater Cleveland want to remind parents that October 31 is one of the most dangerous days of the year for child pedestrians. The combination of darkness, costumes that can obscure vision and general excitement can lead to heightened risk for child pedestrians. To keep kids safe, parents should remind them about the rules of the road and ensure that they will be seen by drivers this Halloween.

A study of child pedestrian deaths from 1975 through 1996 by the Centers for Disease Control found that fatalities were four times higher on Halloween evening (4 pm through 10 pm) compared to all other evenings. Thanks to coordinated injury prevention efforts nationwide, heightened public awareness, and the increased use of safety materials like retro reflective tape on bags and costumes, the child pedestrian fatality rate has dropped from the 1970s and 1980s, but a review of national crash data from 2000 through 2005 by researchers at Rainbow still found that the average number of child pedestrian fatalities on Halloween night is three times the average for all other evenings.

“Parents need to remind kids about safety while walking before they go out trick-or-treating,” says Dr. Walter Chwals, Director of the Rainbow Pediatric Trauma Center. “Children should bring flashlights or glow sticks with them, carry reflective bags or have reflective tape on their costumes, and not wear masks that may inhibit their ability to see hazards. Ensuring kids are seen this Halloween is essential to keep this holiday fun for everyone.”