Unintentional injury is the number one killer of children ages 14 and under. One out of every four children, or more than 14 million children under the age of 14, sustains injuries that are serious enough to require medical attention each year. As the local coalition leader for the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, Westchester SAFE KIDS/Blythedale is committed to reducing these numbers. Our dedication to this cause is evidenced by the numerous activities the Hospital participates in each year. For example, Blythedale has opened a permanent car seat fitting station for both regular and special-needs car seats on site. We continue to provide schools and community organizations with educational materials and programming, including our "You Only Have One Brain” head injury prevention program. In addition, we provide CPR training and bicycle safety fairs to the community.

Westchester SAFE KIDS/Blythedale Children’s Hospital is proud to be the local coalition leader for SAFE KIDS Worldwide – the country’s oldest nationwide childhood injury prevention campaign. Working in collaboration with a wide variety of area organizations, Westchester SAFE KIDS/Blythedale Children’s Hospital strives to wage a community-wide response to reduce the number of preventable childhood injuries in Westchester County and beyond.

Westchester SAFE KIDS/Blythedale Children’s Hospital consists of more than 50 government, not-for-profit and corporate members, including the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and State Farm Insurance.

Since its inception in 1988, Westchester SAFE KIDS/Blythedale has:

• coordinated Car Seat Technologist Training Courses,
• established a permanent fitting station for both regular and special needs car seats at Blythedale Children’s Hospital,
• participated in hundreds of car seat safety checks,
• trained thousands of people in CPR,
• distributed child safety information to schools and organizations,
• provided educational programs for children in kindergarten through third grade on a variety of topics, inlcuding fire, bicycle and water safety,
• presented its Traumatic Brain Injury prevention program, "You Only Have One Brain," to more than 20,000 students, and
• conducted numerous bike and safety rodeos in the community.

In its effort to fulfill its mission of reducing preventable injuries in children, Westchester SAFE KIDS/Blythedale Children’s Hospital offers numerous ways for the community to take advantage of its many resources:

• coordinate your child car seat safety event,
• develop individualized and developmentally appropriate educational programs to meet children’s safety needs,
• organize bicycle safety events, or
• provide speakers to address all aspects of injury prevention.

Please join us in the fight to make childhood injury prevention a priority in our community. If you are interested in joining our coalition, having a speaker address your organization or civic group, or just learning more about our program, please call us at (914) 592-7555, ext. 71647, or email SAFE KIDS Coordinator Susan Larkin at suel@blythedale.org. Also, please check out the National SAFE KIDS Organization website at www.safekids.org.

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