| Aug. 26, 2004
MGHS teams up with new safety coalition
“ Working To Improve Safety For Kids On U.P. Roads”
Improving
the status of child passenger safety in the Upper Peninsula
is the focus of a recently organized Upper Peninsula-wide
safety coalition.
The initiative is in conjunction with a grant received by Marquette General
Health System from the State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association
(STIPDA), with funding provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The U.P. Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Coalition will provide interested individuals
and agencies an opportunity to team up with other child passenger safety advocates
in the area. Together, they will share ideas and collaborate on how to improve
the current status of child passenger safety in our region.
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“Every community in the Upper Peninsula has its own unique qualities, but
the problem of improper child car seat use is common throughout,” said
Gary Gustafson, MGHS EMS Paramedic/RN, who is coordinating the STIPDA grant.
Certified child passenger safety technicians within the Upper Peninsula estimate
the error rate in the use of child car seats observed during child car seat
check events as high as 95 percent. Some of the areas the coalition will
address include: retention of current certified child passenger safety technicians;
training for those interested in becoming certified; and community outreach
efforts throughout the region that will provide information and education
pertaining
to proper child restraint.
Members of the U.P. Child Passenger Safety Coalition come from a variety
of agencies, many of whom have already dedicated a great deal of time to
address
safe travel for children in the Upper Peninsula. As a regional medical center
and proposed Level II Trauma Center, MGHS is committed to injury prevention
through community outreach initiatives.
“MGHS is showing its ongoing commitment and dedication to community safety
through participation with this new coalition,” Gustafson said. “Current
research indicates the continual improper use of child car seat use, both on
the local and national levels. By teaming up with other safety advocates throughout
the Upper Peninsula, we’re hopeful it will open up new opportunities
to make positive change.”
One main theme all participants agree on is that statistics consistently show
children travel at increased risk for preventable injury, death and disability
because of improper restraint use.
For more information on the U.P. Child Passenger Safety Coalition, contact
Gustafson at MGHS EMS at 906-225-3547 or 1-800-562-9753, ext. 3547; or by
email at ggustafson@mgh.org.
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