Activities Of Health-Related Organizations

Ongoing Child Passenger Safety Inspections
Members of the Air Surface Transport Nurses Association (ASTNA) in Charlottesville, VA - partnering with local police, firefighters, EMS workers and the University of Virginia Health System - established an on-going program to conduct monthly child passenger safety inspections. Funds from a NHTSA mini-grant, along with private funding, allowed the nurses to purchase a trailer to store the supplies and materials necessary for conducting the checkpoints. At their first checkpoint event on February 16, 2002, during National Child Passenger Safety Week, they installed 164 seats, noted an 85 percent misuse rate of child safety seats, and gave away 22 new seats.

Healthy Mothers and Babies Buckle Up
In 2002, the National Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition adopted child passenger safety as one of its core focus areas for the next five years.

Permanent Inspection Stations at Hospitals
The American Hospital Association’s Society for Hospital Strategy and Market Development received over 50 applications for 10-15 mini-grants to establish CPS fitting stations at hospitals. Awardees were announced during CPS week. Grant recipients include the following organizations: Adirondack Medical Center, Saranac Lake, NY; Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA; Grinnell Regional Medical Center, Grinnell, IA; Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN; Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Pine Bluff, AR; Lutheran Children’s Hospital, Fort Wayne, IN; Mercy San Juan Medical Center/Catholic Health Care West, Carmichael, CA; Mount Clemens General Hospital, Mt. Clemens, MI; Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center, Anniston, AL; Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Salisbury, MD; Pleasant Valley Hospital, Point Pleasant, WV; St. Vincent Hospital, Center for Childhood Safety, Green Bay, WI; Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Nashville, TN; Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC; and Watertown Area Health Services, Watertown, WI. The total amount to be awarded is $37,795. Individual grants range from $500 to $3,500.

Emergency Nurse Association (ENA) and Emergency Nurses CARE, Inc. (ENCARE) Support ABC Mobilizations
ENA/ENCARE nurses helped conduct car seat checkpoints and educated parents about the use of child safety restraints during both ABC mobilizations. They also presented information in schools and partnered with law enforcement to educate communities on the dangers of drinking and driving.

Spanish-Speaking Spokespersons for Child Passenger Safety Week
During CPS Week, the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) provided media-markets for Spanish-speaking audiences.

Outreach to African American Communities
The National Medical Association developed and distributed community outreach kits on safety belts and child passenger safety to its members. The Association also continued its work with the International Center for Injury Prevention, Heart to Heart, and the National Football League by providing speakers at events directed at African American youth.