St. Louis Children’s Hospital Unveils Expanded Safety Stop
“Safe Escape” program added to help children with disabilities escape during emergencies
ST. LOUIS, November 13, 2008 — St. Louis-area families now have a new home for Child Safety. St. Louis Children’s Hospital has unveiled a newly-expanded “Safety Stop,” an onsite area where certified safety experts will offer free safety consultation appointments and discounted products to hospital patients and families in the community. In addition to helmet, car seat and home safety information and products, Safety Stop also will include consultations for the hospital’s new Safe Escape Program, which offers families of children with disabilities and special health care needs education, information and equipment to prepare for safe evacuation during emergencies or natural disasters.
“We strive to provide the best possible care for children and that includes helping parents prevent accidents or injuries whenever possible,” said Lee Fetter, president of St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “Whether children are hospital patients or visitors from the community, we encourage families to utilize the expertise and resources of our Safety Stop team and the Safe Escape program.”
The expanded Safety Stop, located in the hospital’s Visitor Garage, includes a family consultation office, as well as product display and storage areas. Safety Stop operations have been supported by donations to the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation. This new expansion of Safety Stop was funded by a Safe Escape grant awarded to St. Louis Children’s Hospital by National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI). St. Louis was one of just six children’s hospitals in the country selected to receive a $100,000 grant.
“With NACHRI’s help, we can provide more safety tools and resources focused on emergencies and evacuation to families who are often overwhelmed by their child’s daily needs,” said Greta Todd, director of Child Health Advocacy and Outreach at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “These families often have not had the time or resources to plan for emergencies.”
Through the Safe Escape Program, families meet with a trained hospital staff member to assess their home life, emergency evacuation concerns and their child’s health condition. The hospital educator then helps the families select products that address their concerns and teaches them how to use the equipment.
The Safe Escape Program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital is unique to the St. Louis-area community and reflects the specific needs of the local pediatric population based on a risk analysis of inpatient and outpatient hospital visits for unintentional injury and injury-related death.
“We are so happy to again partner with St. Louis Children’s Hospital,” said Karen Seaver-Hill director of Child Advocacy for NACHRI. “We share a desire to expand safety resources for all families – both in the St. Louis community and across the country.”
The Safe Escape Program grants were made possible by a $1 million grant awarded to NACHRI by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant program.
For more information or to make an appointment at Safety Stop, call the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Answer Line at 314.454.KIDS (5437).