Safe Kids July 16 , 2007 Safe Kids Catawba County Sponsors Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification Class In August

Incredible as it may seem, 9 out of 10 child passenger safety seats are installed incorrectly. One of those seats could be a seat used by your own child or by the child of a friend or a relative. In its efforts to make all area children safe from unintentional injury, Safe Kids Catawba County will be sponsoring a class for national certification of child passenger safety (CPS) technicians. “Anyone interested in learning more about child passenger safety and child safety seats may attend,” said Debbie Leger-Scott, Safe Kids Catawba County coordinator. “These classes will educate participants on the law, seat installations, statistics, seat compatibilities and more. And, of course, the most important reason to take one of these classes to help save lives.” Participants will learn how to properly install seats and then share more accurate information to other parents and caregivers. This three-day class will be held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 7, 8 and 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day in the Conover Fire Department training room. Those wishing to participate must register and pay the class fee of $60 online at www.safekids.org/certification. The class fee includes program materials and national certification of the individual as a CPS technician for two years upon successful completion of the course. Space is limited. Safe Kids Worldwide (SKW) is the certifying body for the National Standardized CPS Training Program. The Safe Kids Catawba County Coalition is part of the Safe Kids Worldwide and Safe Kids North Carolina, the first and only national non-profit organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury-the number one killer of children ages 14 and under. The Campaign is made up of more than 300 state and local Safe Kids coalitions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Catawba Valley Medical Center is the lead agency for the Safe Kids Catawba County Coalition and employs Ms. Leger-Scott as the coalition’s coordinator. To learn more about Safe Kids or to schedule an appointment for child safety seat inspection, call her at 828-485-2300. Catawba Valley Medical Center is a not-for-profit, public healthcare system providing and promoting the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventative medicine and acute care. CVMC, recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Magnet facility, was recently named a Hospital of Choice by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers.