More than 75 children from the Lower Naugatuck Valley will be traveling safer thanks to a successful car seat clinic held last Thursday.
Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley and Griffin Hospital Valley Parish Nurse Program hosted the car seat clinic at the Head Start TEAM Early Care and Education Center at 80 Howard Ave. in Ansonia.
Combining grants from the BJ’s Charitable Foundation and Safe Kids USA, they were able to have a complete child safety education program that culminated in the distribution of 76 car seats.
“With the money from BJ’s and Safe Kids, we were able to have an entire educational program for the parents here which included pedestrian safety as well as car safety,” said Cathi Kellett, Coordinator for Safe Kids Greater Naugatuck Valley and Special Programs Coordinator for Griffin Hospital Valley Parish Nurse Program. “To be eligible for a car seat, parents had to go through all of the classes and complete a post-test on all of the safety information. Today, we are able to give out 76 car seats to families in need.”
Car seat recipient Nicole Souza wasn’t aware that her 4‑year-old daughter Charlize Wallace still needed to be in a car seat until she was recently pulled over by local police. “Thankfully they gave me a warning, and I was able to participate in this program,” Souza said. “[Charlize] hasn’t been in a car seat since she outgrew her old one about a year ago.”
Kellett, along with school staff, gathered information from the parents ahead of time such as the children’s height and weight so they could have the correct seats prepped for installation at the clinic. The seats were installed by Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, who undergo continuous training to maintain their title.
“We go through about 40 hours of training and have to recertify every two years,” said Mary Swansiger, BSN, MPH, and Outreach Coordinator for Griffin Hospital Valley Parish Nurse Program. “During that two-year period, we have to work at various community events to keep our skills up, and have to practice on all 5 types of car seats.”
