The Regional Healthcare, specifically the Mother-to-Mother program within the RHF, is working to get the word out regarding the dangers of leaving an unattended baby in a car in the heat.
One method of spreading that word has been to distribute posters warning of the dangers, but Mother-to-Mother has gone a step further and are distributing "EzBabySavers," devices that are being made locally by a group of Girl Scouts.
Beth Bischof, representing the M2M program, explains, "This device stops parents so they are unable to walk away from their vehicle when a child is inside. It is made of a strap that stretches from the back seat of a vehicle to the front and attaches to the driver's side door."
"Deaths from leaving children in car seats in a hot vehicle occur far too often," Bischof added, "because parents, guardian or significant others get distracted and leave a child in a locked car. This is referred to as "vehicular heat stroke death."
Bischof noted that approximately 39 children will die each year because they have been left unattended in a hot car. Between 1998 and 2013, close to 600 children have died as a result of vehicular heat stroke.
It takes very little time for heat to claim the life of a child left in a vehicle in the hot summer months. A child's life can be taken in as little as 15 minutes,or they may sustain brain damage or kidney damage in that short time.
"For every 10 minutes a child is in a car, the temperature in that car rises up to 20 degrees," said Bischof.
Mother-to-Mother mentors are working with young mothers to warn them of the dangers of leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. They explain that if a car is at 70 degrees when an adult leaves, then in only 20 minutes, the inside of that car will register 110 and in another 20 minutes, it will be at 150.
"Combine that with the fact that body temperatures may rise to 106 degrees or higher within 10 to 15 minutes," it was noted.
Mother-to-Mother educators say they're well aware of the fact that heat strokes take a very short time and can change the life of a child completely. It is their mission to educate the public about the problem and how it can be prevented.
For additional information, contact Beth Bischof at the RHF at 624-1607 or visit the Foundation at 215 W. Grant.