"Playing it Safe" Seminar Educates Young Parents about Bathroom Safety
For the second consecutive year, the Rochester chapter of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids (IFCK) and Monroe County’s Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), through the Monroe County Health Department, have teamed up to host an interactive bathroom safety seminar for low-income, first-time families. This year’s event, titled “Playing it Safe,” will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Kate Gleason Auditorium of the Bausch and Lomb Public Library, located at 115 South Ave. Participants have been recruited from the 250 clients currently receiving home visits from NFP.
The seminar is again made possible by a generous $1,000 donation from Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund. Organizers of “Playing it Safe” will work with clients to obtain information on the current status, knowledge, and use of injury prevention equipment in the home and to provide safety items to families in need.
“Injuries are a major cause of morbidity and mortality for children, and for children under the age of 5, the majority of injuries occur in the home,” said Anne Brayer, M.D., program director of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids and pediatric emergency room physician at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “This program aims to help new parents understand what the risks are and to help them take the needed measures to protect their infants.”
Each family that attends will receive a home safety kit that will include tub floor non-slip decals, tub faucet covers, door knob covers, and toilet locks. In addition to discussing safety measures, a health educator or nurse from NFP will demonstrate the proper use of each distributed item. Visiting Nurse Service, UR Medicine's home care agency, provides all of the nursing visits to the first-time mothers participating in the seminar.
“‘Playing It Safe’ serves a dual purpose, in that not only does it give us a formalized opportunity to interact with clients around various safety supplies, and to discuss and demonstrate the use of these supplies, but it also brings families together,” said Beverly Faro, RN, Nurse-Family Partnership program coordinator. “The informal interaction that occurs between parents and children during this event is wonderful.”
An educator from the Perinatal Network will also be presenting the “Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait,” part of a comprehensive initiative by the March of Dimes to prevent preterm birth, with a focus on reducing elective deliveries before 39 weeks gestation.
Prior to the start of the seminar, participants will be asked to complete a basic survey that uses pictures of various devices. At their next home visit, families will be asked to complete a post survey to determine change in knowledge and retention.
The seminar will include light refreshments and two guests will also have the chance to go home with a baby gate.
About Nurse-Family Partnership
Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is a community agency that works with underserved populations to help educate them on maintaining a healthy and safe home. NFP helps transform the lives of vulnerable first-time moms and their babies. Through ongoing home visits from registered nurses, low-income, first-time moms receive the care and support they need to have a healthy pregnancy, provide responsible and competent care for their children, and become more economically self-sufficient.
About the Injury Free Coalition for Kids
The Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Rochester is an injury prevention program whose goal is to address this health priority in our community. Centered at the University of Rochester, Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Rochester’s strength is working with community groups, governmental agencies and others to identify community concerns, develop plans to address those concerns, and implement prevention activities. By relying on the strengths of our coalition members, Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Rochester is able to address community needs for injury prevention programs.