Buckle Up Baby! event set March 21

McCook, Neb. -- Community Hospital in conjunction with Safe Kids Platte Valley will host a Buckle up Baby! Car seat event Saturday, March 21 in the McCook fire station, 505 West C Street from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Community Hospital has certified car seat technicians who will conduct the event.

The free car seat check will help to ensure a child is riding as safe as possible in their car seat. Education and literature will be provided along with the seat check.

In the event that a seat is deemed expired or doesn't meet National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's safety standards, seats will be available for purchase. Any funds collected from this event will be accepted by the Community Hospital Health Foundation and reserved for the purchase of new seats in the future. This will help ensure that children are leaving as safe as possible.

Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death among children ages one to 19. Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent; however, Safe Kids reports that seventy-three percent of car seats are critically misused. The number one goal for this event is to make sure that the child leaves safer than he or she arrived. This is accomplished by educating the parents or guardians on how to correctly install the child's car seat and having car seats available to sell if their car seat is expired or recalled.

Please call (308) 344-8525 to make an appointment to guarantee a time slot or for more information.

Appointments last about 30 minutes per car seat and are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.