Golf Tournament to Benefit UAMS Car Seat Safety Program

By todd

LITTLE ROCK – Golfers are invited to hit the links in support of the child safety seat education program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).


 


The Second Annual Safe from the Start Golf Tournament is scheduled for 8 a.m. Aug. 31 at the Rebsamen Park Golf Course in Little Rock. Cost is $100 per player or $400 for a team of four.


 


For information, visit www.uams.edu/pediatrics or call Kelly Simon at (501) 364-2833.


 


Proceeds from the event will benefit Safe from the Start, a child passenger safety education program that serves the families of infants born at UAMS. The tournament is sponsored by the Pediatric Interest Group at the UAMS College of Medicine. The UAMS Medical Center Auxiliary and others have provided support and resources to the program.


 


Safe from the Start, a partnership between the UAMS Departments of Nursing and Neonatology, teaches new parents how to select and use child safety seats. New parents can view a car seat video in English or Spanish in their hospital room, receive basic child safety seat instruction from trained staff, or have a certified child passenger safety technician teach them how to install the car seat in their vehicle.


 


Parents who do not have a child safety seat can purchase one at reduced cost through the program; loaner car beds also are available for medically fragile infants.


 


When correctly installed, child safety seats are 71 percent effective in reducing death for infants involved in a vehicular crash. Low birth weight infants are at a particularly high risk for injury; UAMS houses the largest high-risk obstetric program in the state.


 


With more than 200 members, the UAMS College of Medicine’s Pediatric Interest Group consists of students pursuing a career in pediatric medicine. The group is active in various charitable and educational programs and offers a mentoring program between physicians and students.


 


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,435 students and 715 medical residents. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with about 9,400 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $5 billion a year. For more information, visit www.uams.edu.