HCMC treats 14 kids in 2010 for falls from windows

Authorities at Hennepin County Medical Center say they've treated 14 kids this year after they fell out of windows, often through screens on living room and bedroom windows.

The number is twice the total number of kids treated by the hospital for window falls in 2008 and 2009 combined. A two-year-old from Crosby fell from a third story window and badly broke her arm and jaw.

Julie Philbrook, a trauma prevention specialist at HCMC, said parents should consider keeping their windows open no more than six inches, and moving furniture away from windows if small children are home.

"A lot of time kids are climbing up onto beds, jumping on the couch," Philbrook said. "I call it a launching pad. They're getting up on something and getting close to an open window."

Philbrook says eight children were reported killed in window accidents nationwide last year.