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Carson City Hospital (CCH) is focusing on Child Passenger Safety Week Sept. 19-25. Year-round, the hospital offers trained technicians on staff to instruct parents on the proper way to install a car seat.
“Nearly 75% of child safety seats aren’t used properly,” said Daniyel McAlvey, CCH Service Excellence Manager and a certified Child Passenger Safety technician. “That’s why we offer this service to our patients and the community. We want to be sure that every child seat is installed securely and properly, so that our children are safe and protected when riding in a vehicle.”
Carson City Hospital Service Excellence Manager Daniyel McAlvey, who is also a certified car seat installation technician, buckles in twins Tristyn and TreasDean Arrell after showing their mother, Sherie Arrell, how to properly install their car seats.
McAlvey and her co-worker, CCH O.B. Department Manager Shelly Betancourt, successfully completed all of the requirements for the technician certification as part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) National Standardized Child Passenger Safety Training program. They attended a week-long course that included skill-testing exercises and a series of tests.
“The curriculum was framed with a ‘Learn, Practice, Explain’ paradigm, so that we are now able to explain installation procedures to parents and caregivers, and empower them to confidently install and re-install child restraints on their own after we’ve assisted them,” said McAlvey.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s NHTSA research, 8,959 lives have been saved from 1975 to 2008 by the proper use of child restraints. In 2008 – among children under age 5 in passenger vehicles – an estimated 244 lives were saved by child restraint use (child safety seats and adult seat belts). Research shows that child restraints provide the best protection for all children up to age 8.
“It’s the responsibility of every single parent and caregiver to make sure their children are safely restrained – every trip, every time,” said Betancourt. “We are urging everyone to get their child safety seats inspected. When it comes to the safety of a child, there is no room for mistakes.”
Here are the NHTSA’s 4 Steps for Kids guidelines that determine which restraint system is best suited to protect children based on age and size:
1. For the best possible protection keep infants in the back seat, in rear-facing child safety seats, as long as possible up to the height or weight limit of the particular seat. At a minimum, keep infants rear-facing until a minimum of age 1 and at least 20 pounds.
2. When children outgrow their rear-facing seats (at a minimum age 1 and at least 20 pounds) they should ride in forward-facing child safety seats, in the back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limit of the particular seat (usually around age 4 and 40 pounds).
3. Once children outgrow their forward-facing seats (usually around age 4 and 40 pounds), they should ride in booster seats, in the back seat, until the vehicle seat belts fit properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lies across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest (usually at age 8 or when they are 4’9″ tall).
4. When children outgrow their booster seats, (usually at age 8 or when they are 4’9″ tall) they can use the adult seat belt in the back seat, if it fits properly (lap belt lays across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest). All children younger than 13 should ride in the back seat.
If you are in need of a safety seat or have questions about your current safety seat, please contact Daniyel McAlvey at 989-584-3971 ext. 478 or Shelly Betancourt at 989-584-3971 ext 139.