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Helping Children with Special Medical Needs Travel Safely
Information provided by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation - Published: 2011-02-28
PennDOT is helping hospitals and pediatric practices statewide to ensure children with limited mobility and other special health-care needs can travel safely, acting Secretary Barry J. Schoch, P.E., said today.
PennDOT has invested $91,666 in state funds to purchase 111 specialized car seats through a contract with the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Traffic Injury Prevention Project (PA AAP TIPP).
Through the contract, 65 Hope Car Beds and 46 Snug Seat Hippo car seats were purchased. The car bed is a crash-tested seat for children with conditions such as spina bifida, scoliosis and other conditions that prevent them from being able to sit in standard car seats. Hippo seats allow children with hip casts to travel in a crash-tested seat.
Seats will be delivered to 49 hospitals and 16 pediatric practices statewide. Each pediatric practice will receive one car bed and each hospital will receive one car bed and one Hippo seat to be loaned to families and caregivers. The seats are expected to last six to 10 years, depending on the model.
"Previously, some of these children had to go to their medical appointments in an ambulance because traditional car seats would not keep them safe. This program will alleviate that burden for these children and their families," said Schoch. "Family members or guardians shouldn't have to worry whether children can ride safely to medical appointments or on errands."
The seats are purchased through the Child Passenger Restraint Fund, which is funded by fines from violations of the child passenger safety laws. In partnership with PennDOT, the PA AAP TIPP developed a course on the car seats' proper usage for the medical professionals receiving them. Approved by the University of Pittsburgh, the course provides one credit toward the professionals' medical licensure.
The fund is used semi-annually to purchase standard car seats for use in more than 100 loaner programs across the state. These programs are coordinated through police departments, pediatric practices, hospitals and other partners. To learn more about this program, call 1-800-CAR-BELT.
Learn more about PennDOT's safety efforts by visiting www.DriveSafePA.org
List of hospitals and pediatric practices receiving specialized seats:
Allegheny County
* Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
* The Children's Institute
* West Penn Hospital
* Magee-Women's Hospital of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Armstrong County: Children's Community Pediatrics - Armstrong
Blair County: Blair Medical Associates Pediatrics
Bucks County
* Grand View Hospital
* Lower Bucks Hospital
Butler County: Children's Community Pediatrics Armstrong
Cambria County: Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center
Centre County: Centre Medical Surgical Associates
Chester County
* Chester County Hospital
* Phoenixville Hospital
Clearfield County
* Clearfield Hospital
* Dubois Regional Medical Group - DuBois
* DuBois Regional Medical Center
Delaware County: Delaware County Memorial Hospital
Erie County
* Hamot Medical Center
* Shriner's Hospital for Children
* Saint Vincent Health System
Franklin County: Chambersburg Hospital
Jefferson County: Dubois Regional Medical Group - Punxsutawney
Lackawanna County
* Moses Taylor Hospital
* Pediatrics of Northeastern PA
Lancaster County: Grace Pediatrics
Lebanon County: Good Samaritan Pediatrics
Lehigh County: Lehigh Valley Hospital
Luzerne County
* Geisinger Wyoming Valley
* Hazleton Professional Services
* Wyoming Valley Healthcare System
Mercer County
* Grove City Medical Center
* Sharon Regional Health System Main Hospital
* University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Horizon – Shenango Valley
Monroe County: Pocono Medical Center
Montgomery County: Pottstown Memorial Medical Center
Montour County: Geisinger - Janet Weis Children's Hospital
Northampton County: St. Luke's Hospital - Bethlehem
Schuylkill County
* Blue Mountain Pediatrics
* Schuylkill Medical Center
Tioga County: Wellsboro Pediatric Healthcare Associates
Venango County: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Northwest
Warren County: Warren Pediatrics
Washington County: Ripepi Pediatrics
Westmoreland County: Pediatric Associates- Latrobe
York County: Hanover Pediatrics
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