Emergency Medical Technician Andrew Denmon to talk with civic leaders about the Safe Kids of Floyd County campaign Tuesday.
The Safe Kids program provides a variety of safety equipment and offers educational programming to help protect the next generation of Rome and Floyd County citizens. Both Denmon and Morang are certified car seat instructors.
Redmond Regional Medical Center has taken the lead role in sponsoring the program in Floyd County. It is designed to decrease, if not outright eliminate preventable childhood injuries.
Denmon explained that a new helmet incentive program was started recently. Law enforcement personnel, firefighters and other emergency responders have been given gift certificates that are given away when the public safety personnel sees a child properly using a helmet while riding a bike, or to a motorist who has a child properly restrained when pulled over for some other purpose.
“We want to reinforce positive behavior,” Denmon said.
Morang said that the excuse most motorists give for not having children in their safety seats is, “I can’t keep them in the seat.” Others claim, “ It’s not my child.” Morang said most motorists who are stopped for child seat violations do want to do the right thing.
Morang told members of the Seven Hills Rotary Club that even after a child reaches the age of 6 when they no longer have to be legally retained in some sort of safety seat, that if they are not at least 4-foot, 9-inches in height, that they should continued to be restrained in a child’s safety seat.
In addition to bike helmets and car safety seats, the program has also made contact with Department of Natural Resources program to develop a means of distributing life vests to prevent drowning incidents.
People interested in the Safe Kids program can reach Denmon at 706-291-0291.
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