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| Education > Hot Topics |
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| Safe & Secure Car Seat Outreach |
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Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death and acquired disability in children over one year of age in the United States.
After witnessing hundreds of injuries caused by a child not being properly restrained, Randall Jotte, M.D. and his team at the Emergency Department at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis decided to take a proactive approach to help remedy these preventable tragedies.
The team launched Safe and Secure, a prevention program that provides car and booster seats to Missouri children at highest risk for motor vehicle injury and death. The areas of Carter, Reynolds and New Madrid counties in southeast Missouri and the 63104 district of Soulard in St. Louis were found to have the worst childhood mortality rate in a study conducted by Jotte's team.
Currently, Jotte and his staff are working with physicians and care providers in eastern Missouri and at Grace Hill Community center in Soulard to help educate underprivileged families on the life-saving benefits of safety seats and to provide instructions on how to properly use the seats.
Once the family completes the educational session they are given a voucher for each child who needs a safety seat, which can be picked up at their local community center.
Find more information in our most recent Safe and Secure newsletters, also in a printable version.
Click here for a recent article on the Statistics From Car Crashes Accent Need for Safety Seats by Dr. Randy Jotte and Kelly Klasek.
The following web sites are available if you would like more information regarding child car seat safety and installation, car seats reviews and recalls, state laws governing the use of car seats or if you have a question you would like answered.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CPS
Official site of the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. Has a wide range of information, such as how to correctly install car seat, state laws, recalls, and crash test information.
http://www.safekids.org
Run by Safe Kids Coalition. This site covers safety of children in the home as well as in vehicles. Information on seat installation, recalls, and state laws. Can also look up inspection sites in your area to check that your seat is correctly installed. Can also enter your child’s height and weight and get a list of appropriate seat models.
http://www.cpsboard.org
Directed towards states and organizations who are in the process of setting up or maintaining child passenger training and certification programs.
http://www.carseat.org
Sponsored by SafetyBeltSafe USA, this site covers correct installation of car seats, basic information on seat types, and offers materials such as brochures, posters, and videos useful for education and awareness programs.
http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm
Reviews types of car seats, correct installation, and gives an extensive list of car seat models with the height and weight of child they are appropriate for, along with their price.
http://www.car-safety.org
Reviews various types of car seats and has a forum to post questions. |