The Injury Prevention Alliance of Phoenix Named Winner of 2025 Nicholas Rosecrans Award for Teen Driver Safety Program
Source: California Paramedic Foundation
PHOENIX, AZ—The Injury Prevention Alliance of Phoenix (IPAP) has been named the winner of the 2025 Nicholas Rosecrans Award for its innovative Teen Driver Safety Program, a community wide effort to reduce teen driving injuries and fatalities through education, simulation, and family engagement. The award, now in its 24th year and named after a toddler whose tragic drowning in 1996 spurred sweeping injury and illness prevention efforts across Southern California, honors EMS leaders and partners who advance prevention and proactive community health. Lynn Artz, Nicholas’s mother, will present the award to IPAP during the keynote address of the EMS World Expo, Oct. 22 in Indianapolis, where thousands of EMS professionals will gather from around the world.
The Teen Driver Safety Program represents a groundbreaking collaboration among Phoenix’s leading hospitals, EMS, law enforcement, and public health agencies. Each month, free classes are held in fire stations and community centers, often in neighborhoods identified as high-injury zip codes through real-time EMS and hospital data. This allows the program to adapt dynamically, ensuring it targets the communities at greatest risk rather than relying solely on state registry data.
Since its inception, the program has reached more than 460 students and parents, including entire classes from two Phoenix high schools, and now engages 300–400 teens annually. Each session begins with local crash statistics, grounding the discussion in real risks students face every day. Teens are then challenged to come up with their own strategies for reducing those risks, a participatory approach that makes the learning both personal and lasting.
A signature feature of the program is its family-centered design. Teens attend alongside a parent or guardian, ensuring that lessons about seatbelt use, impaired or distracted driving, and safe decision-making are reinforced at home. This family dialogue transforms the program from a single class into an ongoing, household conversation about safety.
The curriculum itself is highly interactive. Students use simulation goggles and mats to experience the slowed reaction times and impaired judgment that come with intoxication or distraction. Police officers, prosecutors, and EMS responders participate in many sessions, sharing real-world stories of motor vehicle crashes that give the program credibility and emotional impact. Pre- and post-class surveys track effectiveness, with students consistently reporting that the program changed how they plan to drive.
The Teen Driver Safety Program is a clear example of the EPIC principles of prevention. It provides education through data-driven teaching and hands-on demonstrations; supports policy by reinforcing Arizona licensing laws and safe driving standards; achieves integration by embedding classes into schools, fire stations, and community centers; and thrives through collaboration, uniting Banner Health, HonorHealth, Phoenix Children’s, Dignity Health, Valleywise Health, and the Phoenix Fire Department’s Community Risk Education Division into one cohesive alliance.
Leadership has been central to its success. Program leaders include Melissa Luxton (Banner Health), Becky Jones (HonorHealth), Nehemias Ponce (Phoenix Fire Department), Sara Latham (Valleywise Health), Anita Jackson (Dignity Health), and Macy Pshigoda (Phoenix Children's). Their collective commitment has transformed an idea into a sustainable citywide model of prevention that is now being integrated into licensing and driver education programs to expand its reach even further.
“By blending real-time EMS and hospital data with powerful teaching, authentic storytelling, and family participation, the Injury Prevention Alliance of Phoenix has created one of the most effective teen driver safety programs in the nation,” said John Ehrhart, Director of the California Paramedic Foundation. “Their work exemplifies the purpose of the Nicholas Rosecrans Award: to prevent tragedy before it occurs through proactive, community-driven initiatives.”
The Nicholas Rosecrans Award is facilitated by the California Paramedic Foundation and the RedFlash Group, in cooperation with EMS World. This year’s award is sponsored by Mission Critical Protocols, a protocol publishing platform for EMS providers.
About the Nicholas Rosecrans Award
The Nicholas Rosecrans Award honors individuals, teams, or organizations who have made a significant impact in preventing injury and illness, transforming EMS from a reactive 911 response to a proactive force in community health. Applications are accepted year-round, and one winner is selected annually to be recognized during the opening ceremonies of the EMS World Expo, where Nicholas Rosecrans’ mother, Lynn Artz, personally presents the award. Winners receive complimentary conference registration, travel, and lodging, and are also featured internationally through a live-recorded EMS World Podcast from the Expo floor. In addition, each recipient makes themselves available to EMS providers interested in adopting or replicating their program, ensuring the lessons of their work extend far beyond their own community. To learn more or apply, visit caparamedic.org/nicholas-rosecrans/.
About the California Paramedic Foundation
The California Paramedic Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to education, prevention, and collaboration in paramedicine. Its work includes advancing innovative EMS programs in community paramedicine, opioid use disorder treatment, senior health, and health information exchange. To learn more about the California Paramedic Foundation, visit caparamedic.org/.
