Children’s and Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton Remind Parents about Child Passenger Safety Best Practices to Reduce Pediatric Injuries Incurred in Motor Vehicle Accidents

Child Passenger Safety at Children’s of Alabama’s provided a demonstration aimed at reducing injuries incurred in motor vehicle accidents Tuesday.

Last year more than 240 children who would have otherwise been sent home without a car seat were given seats through Children’s Car Seat Program. Hare Wynn is the primary underwriter for Children’s Car Seat Program, which provides patient families with car seats upon discharge from the hospital. Since the program launched four years ago, hundreds of families have received free car seats – the vast majority were visiting Children’s Emergency Department, one of the busiest of its kind in the southeast. HWNN has donated more than $30,000 to fund Children’s car seat program.

Nationally about 80 percent of child passenger safety seats are incorrectly installed. According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, children are more likely than adults to be injured because they have softer bones, weaker neck muscles and more fragile bodies. Children also have larger heads in proportion to their bodies which is why children 13 and under should always ride in the back seat of a vehicle.

Children’s also encourages parents and other caregivers to be familiar with the Alabama Child Restraint Law (2006):“Every person transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall provide for the protection of the child by properly using… a child passenger restraint system.” The term “motor vehicle” as used in this section shall include a passenger car, pickup truck, van (seating capacity of 10 or less), minivan, or sports utility vehicle. The fine for a citation is $25.00. The size-appropriate restraint system required for a child shall include all of the following types of child safety seats. Protect your children by changing each seat as they grow.”

About Children’s of Alabama:

Since 1911, Children’s of Alabama has provided specialized medical care for ill and injured children. Ranked among the best pediatric medical centers in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s provided care for youngsters from every county in Alabama, 42 other states and seven foreign countries last year, representing more than 677,000 outpatient visits and more than 15,000 inpatient admissions. With more than 2 million square feet, it is one of the largest pediatric medical facilities in the United States. Children’s offers inpatient and outpatient services across its Russell Campus on Birmingham’s historic Southside with additional specialty services provided at Children’s South, Children’s on 3rd and in Huntsville and Montgomery. Primary care is provided at more than a dozen medical offices in communities across central Alabama. Children’s of Alabama is the only medical center in Alabama dedicated solely to the care and treatment of children. It is a private, not-for-profit medical center that serves as the primary site of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) pediatric medicine, surgery, psychiatry, research, and residency programs. More information is available at childrensal.org.