Project IMPACT: VCU Health’s program to curb impaired driving expands to Southside Virginia schools
Since launching in 2012, Project IMPACT has educated thousands of students about making safer choices before getting behind the wheel.
May 14, 2026
Tiara Braxton, LMPH-R, QMHP-A, with VCU Health’s Project IMPACT, recently spoke with students at Nottoway County High School about the importance of making safe decisions behind the wheel. (Shea Wright, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
By Shea Wright
Sirens echoed across the parking lot as law enforcement, firefighters and EMS rushed to the scene of a high-impact collision.
One teen was ejected through the front windshield of the car. Two others lay on the ground after being thrown from a second vehicle. None were wearing seatbelts.
The driver of the second vehicle, believed to be under the influence of alcohol, has only minor injuries.
Roughly 400 students watch it play out in real time.
Thankfully, it was only a simulation meant to show Nottoway County High School students the real-life consequences of drunk driving, in hopes of preventing a real tragedy from occurring
“Seeing the scenarios unfold made the risks feel more real,” said Avery Cliborne, a senior at Nottoway County High School who participated in the simulation.
After watching that scenario, students were brought inside the school’s auditorium to watch as trauma nurses from VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital (CMH) and nursing students from Southside Virginia Community College demonstrated what happens after a patient is transferred to a trauma center.
This experience is put together by VCU Health’s Injury and Violence Prevention Program’s (IVPP) and is called Project Impacting Minors’ Perceptions and Cognizant Attitudes towards Trauma, or Project IMPACT.
Project IMPACT allows us to step outside the hospital and reach students before they ever become our patients.
Chad Springer, program manager of VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital’s trauma department
Since launching in 2012, Project IMPACT has hosted upwards of 20 mock crash simulations at high schools around Central Virginia. The initiative is part of the educational mission of VCU Medical Center, the region’s only Level I trauma center. In addition to comprehensive clinical care, the trauma center also focuses on research and community outreach to reduce and prevent traumatic injuries.
“Through programs like Project IMPACT, VCU Health’s IVPP is tackling injury and violence at the community level where prevention begins. This work underscores our commitment to creating safer futures locally while serving as a global model for hospital-based injury and violence prevention strategies,” said Carol Olson, MA, LPC, CSAC, associate director of VCU Health’s IVPP.
Project IMPACT, funded by a grant from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, partners with local first responders to put on the simulations. The agencies that participated in the two-part simulation in April at Nottoway County High School included the county's emergency services coordinator, Crewe Volunteer Fire Department, Blackstone Volunteer Fire Department, Burkeville Volunteer Fire Department and EMS and the Nottoway County Sheriff’s Department.
The actions of those first responders left an impression on students.
“With prom and graduation coming up, the mock simulation is something we’ll remember when we’re out celebrating with friends,” said Makenzie Paulett, a senior at Nottoway County High School and simulation participant.
“I’ll be encouraging my classmates not to drink and drive, and to put the phone down,” said Avery, adding that Project IMPACT was “an important learning opportunity” for her and her classmates.
VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital team members and Southside Virginia Community College nursing students demonstrated what happens when a car crash victim is transported to the emergency department. (Shea Wright, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
The mock simulations are only one of the real-world experiences that Project IMPACT brings into the classroom. The VCU Health initiative collaborates with schools on topics such as vaping, teen dating violence, and the judicial consequences of breaking the law. It recently expanded into Southside Virginia, hosting a similar demonstration at Halifax High School in early April.
“Project IMPACT also supports CMH’s broader goal of advancing towards a Level 3 trauma center designation by emphasizing prevention and early education. By working collaboratively with the CMH trauma team, we’re able to expand Project IMPACT across VCU Health campuses and ensure students in our rural communities have access to the same lifesaving education and resources as their peers elsewhere,” said Tiara Braxton, LMHP-R,QMHP-A, the program manager for Project IMPACT.
Saving young lives: VCU Health’s drunk driving prevention program
In Virginia, motor vehicle crashes remain one of the leading causes of unintentional death and injury for teenagers and young adults.
According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles in 2024, there were 38 fatalities involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 19 – an 18.8% increase compared to 2023. At VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital in South Hill, the trauma team responds to about 30 crashes involving teens each year. Many crash victims are also transferred to VCU Medical Center.
For teens in rural communities like Nottoway County, where longer drive times and back roads can delay emergency response, crash prevention is even more urgent.
“We see the consequences of the decisions teens make every day; their lives can be changed in an instant,” said Chad Springer, program manager of CMH’s trauma department. “Project IMPACT allows us to step outside the hospital and reach students before they ever become our patients.”
Through programs like Project IMPACT, VCU Health’s Injury and Violence Prevention Program is tackling injury and violence at the community level where prevention begins.
Carol Olson, MA, LPC, CSAC, associate director of VCU Health’s Injury and Violence Prevention Program
As the Project IMPACT team begins to work with more local high schools in Southside Virginia, their message is simple and clear: every decision behind the wheel matters. Braxton hopes that the lesson stays with students long after the school day ends.
“In places where help may be miles away, the most powerful intervention is often the one that happens before the crash,” Braxton said.
School leaders also hope the impact will be felt immediately.
“Project IMPACT is not just an educational demonstration,” said Reginald Wilson, principal of Nottoway County High School. “It serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of a single reckless decision. Our hope is to encourage students to reevaluate their decisions and provide them with the awareness they need to make safer choices in the future.”
Nottoway County High School seniors Makenzie Paulett (left) and Avery Cliborne (right), who participated as crash victims, say Project IMPACT was an important learning experience that will stick with them for years after graduation. (Shea Wright, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)
