Koehler illustrates what happens to accident victims

By Scott Williams • swilliams@greenbaypressgazette.com • February 25, 2010

Lisa Koehler visits teenagers in their driver’s education classes with the hope that she will never see them again.
Koehler is a nurse who treats traffic accident victims in the emergency room at Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Green Bay.
She has become a regular guest speaker in driver’s education classes, and her presentation is not for the faint of heart.
Koehler not only describes in detail how accident victims are treated in the ER, she displays needles and other tools of the trade.
If that fails to make an impression on students, she brings a body bag and shows how cadavers are handled after fatal accidents.
Some students occasionally get “grossed out,” Koehler said, but her objective in volunteering for the driver’s ed presentations is to prevent young people from getting hurt behind the wheel.
“It is to make them understand that there are consequences to their actions,” she said. “And it is a privilege to get a driver’s license.”
Koehler has become a fixture in Excel Driving Center classes throughout Brown County.
Excel teaches 1,200 to 1,400 new drivers annually, including some in Door, Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties.
Sandy Shimek bought the Green Bay-based business last year and decided to add a touch of realism to the traditional warnings about drunken driving, cell phone distractions and other hazardous habits.
Shimek has been pleased with Koehler’s approach, which she said also garners high praise from students and their parents.
“She really makes a huge impact,” Shimek said. “If we can touch one child, we may save that child’s life.”

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Aurora BayCare Medical Center’s Certified Emergency Nurse, Lisa Koehler, R.N., teaches Excel Driving Center students the direct effects of drinking and driving and impaired driving. Koehler and Aurora BayCare is committed to education and prevention of drunken driving.

They hope students learn not only the basic skills of driving a vehicle, but the importance of driving safely as well.  Koehler lectures about real-life trauma examples that she sees at the Verified Level II Trauma Center at Aurora BayCare.  She specifically notes the dangerous outcomes of not only alcohol-related car accidents, but accidents that result from talking on your cell phone, texting while driving, being tired behind the wheel and playing music too loud.

Through medical equipment show-and-tell, students also learn general information of trauma units. Koehler lets volunteers try on neck braces, so they get first-hand experience of neck injury treatment. She also shows body bags and toe tags to emphasize fatalities resulting from these types of accidents. Koehler asks students if they are prepared to handle themselves, if they drink, drive and harm or kill someone else.

“It is very important to talk to driver education classes about organ donation so they have the information to make an informed decision about whether they are willing to be a donor.  By talking about donation, people see how important it is to the over 100,000 individuals on the waiting list and how many people one donor can help.  Donation is truly a wonderful thing humans can do for one another.
 
My son Dan Linzmeier became an organ and tissue donor 13 years ago when he died in an alcohol related car crash at 21 years old.  He has 4 living organ recipients; Don has his heart, Jackie has his liver, Debbie has his kidney & pancreas, Ed has his other kidney.  My son also has 44 tissue recipients who received skin, bone & connective tissue.

Sherry Linzmeier, Organ Donor Speaker
Donor Mom

Excel Driving Center located in Green Bay, Wisconsin would like to announce the launch of our new website.

Going live on November 3, 2009, the new website offers more information for our students such as the enhanced class schedules, blog and online test prep. Future additions to the site will include online class registration,  mobile web site and more. Please check out our new website at http:\\www.exceldrivingcenter.com.

Excel Driving Center brings a center to the public that offers a variety of services based on their philosophy of quality, safety and education. Located in Green Bay, Wisconsin they service Denmark, Green Bay, Kewaunee, Luxemburg, Manitowoc, Mishicot, Sevastopol, Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay and Two Rivers. They have two offices located in Green Bay and Manitowoc.

Excel Driving Center held a Grand Opening at our new office in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on Thursday October 22, 2009. The office located at 1002 N. 21st Street, Manitowoc, WI 54220, will be serving the areas of Manitowoc, Mishicot and Two Rivers. For more information please call 920.652.2007.