Virtual Car Seat Checks – Proper Installation by Certified Caregivers from Anywhere

Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital offers child passenger safety seat checks across Utah, Idaho, and Nevada.

Salt Lake City, UT -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/11/2021 -- As a safety measure during the COVID-19 pandemic, Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital has taking its car seat safety checks virtual. But even as things start to open up, Primary Children's is continuing to help parents can be sure their child's car seat is properly installed from anywhere.

Installing a car seat may seem like a simple task, but there are several things that must be done correctly for it to protect a baby. The Utah Department of Public Safety says that 60 percent of car seats are installed incorrectly.

"Proper installation and use of car seats are critical to keeping children safe, but many new parents and caretakers have questions about whether they're doing it correctly," said Jessica Strong, community health manager at Primary Children's Hospital.

"While the pandemic has slowed face-to-face interactions, we're thrilled that technology can help us continue to bring critical safety information to parents and caretakers," Strong said.

For decades, Primary Children's child passenger safety technicians have offered free car seat checks at hospitals and events across Utah. This virtual option allows technicians to continue this vital free service across Utah, Idaho, and Nevada.

These video calls allow a technician to guide a person through the process of installing a car seat while giving them important safety information along the way.

The process is simple. Parents set up an appointment, and log into a video call with a Child Passenger Safety Technician. "It takes about 30 minutes to do a check," said Strong. "The other thing we have found with this new technology is that it is helpful to have another adult there, one to hold the camera while anther installs the seat."

Some additional car seat safety tips Strong shares includes:

- Never place a safety seat in the front seat of a car. Regardless of the type of safety seat you use, the front seat is dangerous, especially if your vehicle has air bags.

- Snugly secure the belt holding the safety seat in the car and the harness holding the child in the safety seat.

- Make sure your car seat fits properly in your car. Check the vehicle owner's manual and the safety seat instructions for proper placement procedures.

- Send in the safety seat registration card. Doing so will keep you informed about any updates or recalls of the product.

- Destroy a child safety seat if it has been involved in a crash, even if it still looks like it is in good condition. Damage that affects a seat's ability to withstand another accident is not always visible.

- Avoid secondhand safety seats. Use a secondhand seat only if it has instructions, the manufacturer's date and model number on it, and has never been in a crash.

- Never use an expired safety seat. The life of a car safety seat is about six years.

For more information on the virtual car seat checks, visit primarychildrens.org/safety.

Primary Children's Hospital is part of Intermountain Healthcare, a not-for-profit system of 25 hospitals, 225 clinics, a Medical Group with 2,600 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians, a health insurance company called SelectHealth, and other health services in Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. For more than 95 years, Primary's have served over 1 million children living in a 400,000 square-mile service area including Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Alaska. Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes and sustainable costs.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/virtual-car-seat-checks-proper-installation-by-certified-caregivers-from-anywhere-1341639.htm