Nation's First Children's Hospital-Based Safety Store Focuses On Child Injury Prevention

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 28 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PST

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The Riley Safety Store at Riley Hospital for Children, the first of its kind in the nation, serves as a model for children's hospitals across the nation. Recently expanded, the Riley Safety Store provides space to showcase safety products for children and families, as well as offer different "zones" that simulate home settings and provide families with the opportunity to practice installation and use of child safety products prior to purchase.

The Riley Safety Store serves all children, including children with disabilities or special health care needs, and offers access to a broad inventory of low-cost or free child safety products and injury prevention education.

The Riley Safety Store is a blueprint for children's hospitals nationwide, with 11 children's hospitals having been trained to launch Safety Stores in the last two years by Riley Hospital's Safety Store Team in partnership with the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions. Hospitals which received training are:

* The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)
* Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital (Cleveland, OH)
* Texas Children's Hospital (Houston, TX)
* Children's Hospital of Michigan (Detroit, MI)
* St. Louis Children's Hospital (St. Louis, MO)
* Rady Children's Hospital (San Diego, CA)
* A.I. duPont Children's Hospital (Wilmington, DE)
* University of Iowa Children's Hospital (Iowa City, IA)
* Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital (Portland, OR)
* Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt (Nashville, TN)
* Children's Hospital of Orange County (Orange, CA)

"Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death of American children ages 1 to 14 years, and many parents and caregivers are unaware of the risks around the home and on the road that present a danger to their children," said Jeffrey L. Sperring, MD, chief medical officer, Riley Hospital for Children. "By offering the Safety Store to our community and partnering with other hospitals, we are actively promoting the message, statewide and nationally, that child injury prevention needs to be an important priority for all children and their families," said Dr. Sperring, who is an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Since opening in 2005, the Riley Safety Store has served over 8,100 families who have purchased safety products and/or received free products through the Riley Safety Store's pioneering program, Safe Escape. Annually, the Riley Safety Store receives over 10,000 visitors.

Currently, there are eight Riley Safety Stores in Indiana: Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis; Children's Museum of Indianapolis; Decatur County Memorial Hospital, Greensburg; Morgan Hospital and Medical Center, Martinsville; Tipton Hospital, Tipton; Schneck Medical Center, Seymour; Howard Regional Health System, Kokomo; and Clarian West, Avon.

"Our expanded and newly renovated Safety Store further demonstrates Riley Hospital's commitment to innovation, leadership and our community by making safety affordable and accessible to all children and families, especially in these difficult economic times," said Cara Fast, MSW, Riley Safety Store manager. "We want families to keep safety top-of-mind and the Riley Safety Store is one way we can help accomplish that goal."

Funding for the Riley Safety Store expansion and renovation was made possible by support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Assistance to Firefighters Fire Prevention and Safety Grants program and the Riley Children's Foundation.

Source:
Cindy Fox Aisen
Indiana University