Virginia's Child Passenger Safety Laws

Health Care Providers: First Ride, Safe Ride Program Previous Page

Virginia Department of Health launched "First Ride, Safe Ride," a health care provider-focused project that promotes the safe transportation of newborns with the first ride home. This project breaks down the barriers that hospitals face in educating new parents about child passenger safety. The project provides free and accurate resources for patient distribution, health care provider education through staff training, guidelines, web site and listserv. With this level of support, hospitals are able to improve related hospital policies, offer consistent and accurate child passenger safety education to parents and inform parents of local resources for future use.

Health Care Provider Training

The First Ride, Safe Ride training is a free 2-hour child passenger safety training for health care providers (i.e., nurses, doctors, volunteers, transporters) and anyone else that assists with educating parents when infants are discharged from the hospital. Participants will learn best practices in child passenger safety. To learn more or to schedule a training, contact Heather Board, Child Passenger Safety Outreach Coordinator, at 804-864-7738 or heather.board@vdh.virginia.gov.

This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the Virginia Nurses Association Continuing Education Approval Committee, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

Free Print Materials

VDH offers FREE patient resources as part of the First Ride Safe Ride Program. The following resources can be downloaded and printed or can be ordered by faxing the order form. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery of materials. Click here to view, print or order additional child passenger safety resources.

• A Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Baby With a Child Safety Seat-English
• A Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Baby With a Child Safety Seat-Spanish
• 4 Steps to Child Passenger Safety: Flipbooks
• Health Care Provider Guide to Child Passenger Safety for Newborns
• Car Bed Tip Sheet
• Child Safety Seats for Premature and LBW Infants

American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statements and Recommendations

Policy Statement Child Passenger Safety (Pediatrics published online Mar. 21, 2011)

Safe Transportation of Newborns at Hospital Discharge (PEDIATRICS Vol. 104 No. 4 October 1999, pp. 986-987)

Safe Transportation of Preterm and Low Birth Weight Infants at Hospital Discharge (Pediatrics 2009;123;1424-1429)

Safe Transportation of Premature and Low Birth Weight Infants (PEDIATRICS Vol. 97 No. 5 May 1996)

Rear-Facing Car Safety Seats: Getting the Message Right (Pediatrics 2008;121;619-620)

What to consider when positioning carseats for toddlers (AAP News Vol. 30 No. 4 April 2009, p. 12)

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