The Automobile Club of Southern California will host free child passenger safety education workshops at Mission Hospital’s Women’s Wellness Center as part of a new public health partnership. The first Auto Club workshop will be held on Thursday, April 13 for parents, expectant parents, grandparents and caregivers of children up to 8 years of age.
The interactive workshop provides information on the state’s newly-amended child passenger safety law, how to choose and install a car seat into a vehicle and how to locate online safety seat recalls. The workshop also provides participants with take-home resources on where to get car seats checked by local car seat technicians. State law requires that children under age eight must be properly buckled into a car seat or booster in the vehicle’s back seat.
The 90-minute workshop, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., will be held in Mission Hospital’s Women’s Wellness Center, 26732 Crown Valley Parkway, Suite 171C classrooms, Mission Viejo 92691. Additional quarterly classes taught by the Auto Club child safety instructors will be held on June 15, Sept. 14 and Nov. 9.
The Auto Club child passenger safety instructor also will discuss AB 53 which now requires children under age 2 to be secured in a rear-facing child safety seat, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The new rear-facing requirement took effect in January 2017. The Auto Club supported the law.
“Car seats when installed and used properly can prevent injuries and save lives,” said Sue Jacobson, Nurse Manager for Women’s Wellness Center, Breast Center & Perinatal Programs. “The Auto Club and Mission Hospital Women’s Wellness Center are pleased to announce a new partnership to help educate new parents and caregivers on child passenger safety laws and inform parents on how to properly use a car seat,” added Jacobson.
“California’s children will be safer if parents and caregivers take time to learn how to correctly use child safety seats and use them correctly every time,” said Anita Lorz Villagrana, the Auto Club’s manager of community affairs and traffic safety.
Properly installed safety seats reduce fatal injury risk by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers. Booster seats increase a child’s chance of surviving a crash by 45 percent, according to the Auto Club. Unfortunately many parents and caregivers still don’t use car seats correctly and it’s estimated that 3 out of 4 car seats are installed incorrectly. In 2015, California had 7,845 occupant protection violations for children 0-16, according to California Highway Patrol data.
The class is for adults only. No car seat installations in vehicles will take place. Free parking available. Class space is limited and reservations are required. To register, please go to www.AAA.com/childsafety and for more information call the Auto Club’s Community Affairs and Traffic Safety office at (714) 885-2312.
The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA federation of motor clubs, has been serving Southern California since 1900. Today, the Auto Club members benefit by the organization’s roadside assistance, financial products, automotive pricing and buying programs, automotive testing and analysis, trip planning services and highway, transportation and safety programs. Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club’s web site at www.aaa.com
About Mission Hospital
As part of the St. Joseph Hoag Health network of care, Mission Hospital was founded in Mission Viejo in 1971 and has since grown to a two-campus facility with 552 beds and approximately 2,500 employees. Mission Hospital, a ministry of St. Joseph Health, has been serving the greater needs of the community for more than 40 years, improving the quality of life in the communities it serves in the tradition of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo is an acute care, full-service facility providing advanced health care services and diagnostic care to south Orange County and is the only designated trauma center in south Orange County. Mission Hospital Laguna Beach (MHLB) provides south Orange County coastal communities with 24-hour emergency and intensive care as well as medical-surgical/telemetry services. Mission Hospital offers special care in cardiovascular, neuroscience and spine, orthopedics, women’s services, urology, mental health & wellness, head and neck and other key specialties. CHOC Children’s at Mission Hospital is a 48-bed facility that is the area’s only dedicated pediatric hospital for more than two decades. Fully accredited by The Joint Commission and designated as a Magnet hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for nursing excellence. Mission Hospital has received numerous awards and recognition for its high quality of care. For more information, visit www.mission4health.com