ER Medical Director Launches “Sun, Suds, and Stitches” Campaign to Prevent Spring Break ER Visits

Melbourne, Fl – (March 20, 2026) – Spring break is supposed to end with memories, not medical bills. But spring break also concentrates the conditions that drive ER visits – more travel, more time around water, longer days in the sun, and more late nights that include alcohol.

To help travelers, parents, and students avoid the mistakes that most commonly land people in the ER, Kevin Freels, MD, Chief of Staff at Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital and Emergency Department Medical Director, is launching the Sun, Suds, and Stitches: The National Spring Break Injury Prevention Campaign. This awareness campaign is designed for spring travelers who want practical, easy-to-follow steps to stay safe before their trip even begins.

Why Risk Goes Up During Spring Break 

Spring break is often considered more dangerous because people tend to take greater risks as the environment changes.

• More miles, more unfamiliar roads: People drive farther, drive at night, and drive in places they don’t know – which increases the odds of distractions, wrong turns, and delayed reaction times.
• Alcohol + vacations = lowered guardrails: When people are off routine, drinking often starts earlier, lasts longer, and leads to decisions they wouldn’t make at home – especially around water, balconies, and driving.
• More water exposure, more fatigue: Pools, beaches, boats, and strong currents are part of the plan – and fatigue or overconfidence can turn a normal swim into an emergency.
• Sun and heat compound everything: Long hours outside, dehydration, and severe sunburn build throughout the day and often show up later, when symptoms feel suddenly “serious.”
• Footwear, glass, and “vacation shortcuts”: Flip-flops, broken glass, and rushed choices lead to lacerations, sprains, and fractures that can derail a trip.

“Spring break injuries aren’t random – they’re predictable. And that means prevention is practical,” says Dr. Freels.

Dr. Freels sees a predictable spike tied to alcohol, water, driving, and heat when spring travel ramps up. Through this National Awareness Tour, he is helping communities reduce preventable spring break injuries and keep families focused on fun, not follow-up appointments.

About Orlando Health

Orlando Health is a private not-for-profit, integrated academic healthcare system with $14 billion of assets under management, that serves the southeastern United States – including Florida and Alabama – and Puerto Rico. With corporate offices in Orlando, Florida the system provides a complete continuum of care across a network of medical centers and institutes, community and specialty hospitals, physician practices, urgent care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home healthcare, and long-term and behavioral health care services. Founded more than 100 years ago, Orlando Health’s mission is to improve the health and the quality of life of the individuals and communities we serve. The system provided nearly $1.7 billion in community impact in the form of community benefit programs and services, Medicare shortfalls, bad debt, community-building activities and capital investments in FY 23, the most recent period for which the information is available. For more information, visit orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X.