Partnership Aims to Educate Young Parents about Bathroom Safety
The Rochester chapter of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids (IFCK) recently partnered with Monroe County’s Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), through the Monroe County Health Department, to host an engaging bathroom safety seminar for young parents. The “baby shower,” took place Aug. 14, in the Kate Gleason Auditorium at the Bausch and Lomb Public Library. Participants for the shower were recruited from the 260 clients currently active in NFP. The educational event focused on safety issues with specific injury prevention equipment, giving parents the opportunity to visit safety stations to learn about and take home various items.
Sponsored by a generous $1,000 donation from Toys “R” Us, Inc., the seminar aimed to reduce home injuries.
In addition to some general safety items, parents were also able to select a faucet cover, non-slip tub stickers, a temperature gauge, and cabinet/drawer locks, to make the bathroom a safer place for their child. A NFP nurse was also available to demonstrate the proper use of each of the materials.
“Unintentional injury is a major cause of disability, and even death, for young infants in Rochester,” said Anne Brayer, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics and director of Rochester’s chapter of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids. “About 93 percent of the injuries we saw in the Emergency Department, for infants under 1 year, happened in the home.”
To accurately measure awareness of bathroom safety, participants completed a basic survey prior to the event. At the end of the event, they took another survey to determine awareness levels and overall understanding.
“Nurse-Family Partnership nurses provide home visitation to low-income, first time mothers from early pregnancy until the child’s 2nd birthday, in an effort to improve pregnancy outcomes, improve child health and development and improve economic self-sufficiency of the participants,” said Beverly Faro, program coordinator.
“One of the outcomes demonstrated in over 30 years of rigorous research by the program is a reduction in health care encounters for injuries to children. We are so grateful to the Injury Free Coalition and Toys “R” Us for helping us provide safety items to our families in conjunction with safety education,” Faro said.
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.