CLEBURNE, Texas — With a state law changing on Sept. 1, car safety seat checks by Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne officials are taking on even greater significance educating parents about how to comply.

Texas Health Cleburne officials host free car seat checks from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. The checks are conducted at St. Mark United Methodist Church. Parents must register by calling 1-877-THR-WELL (1-877-947-9355).

During the event, parents can have car seats checked and learn if a new seat is required. Hospital officials check to see if the car seat is appropriate for the age, weight and size of the child, as well as if it is positioned in the safest place of the car, if the seat belts are being used correctly and if the seat is safe to use.

As of Sept. 1, all children 8 years or younger, unless they are taller than 4-foot-9, must use child safety seats. A warning period will last until June 1, 2010.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that children remain in a child safety seat until eight years of age, or reaches 4 feet 9 inches or 80 pounds. The SAFE KIDS campaign estimates that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children, with more than 270,000 children injured and more than 1,765 children killed every year.

“Having the proper safety seat in place, and installed correctly, is a crucial step to keeping children safe,” said Marvin Cloud, R.N., trauma coordinator and child passenger safety technician at Texas Health Cleburne. “Child passenger safety technicians would rather install a car seat correctly and prevent injuries than to have an injured child come into our hospital because their car seat was installed incorrectly. We can help try to prevent that from happening and we want to keep children from getting hurt in our community.”

Many parents are unaware of the recommendations for child safety seats. For example, all infants should ride rear-facing in either an infant car seat or convertible seat and toddlers should remain rear-facing in a convertible car seat until they have reached the maximum height and weight recommended for the model, or at least the age of 2. Also, according to carseat.org, car seats have expiration dates because weather can cause the material to deteriorate.

For more information on the event, call 1-877-THR-WELL (1-877-847-9355).

For more information on child safety seats, visit dshs.state.tx.us/saferiders or usa.saferiders.org.

About Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne is a 137-bed acute-care, full-service hospital that has served Cleburne and the Johnson County area since 1986. The hospital’s services include surgery, women’s services, urology, orthopedics and ear, nose and throat care. Texas Health Cleburne, an affiliate of the faith-based, nonprofit Texas Health Resources system, has been recognized with the 2007 Premier/Carescience Select Practice National Quality Award. For more information, call 1-877-THR-WELL, or visit TexasHealth.org/Cleburne.

About Texas Health Resources
Texas Health Resources is one of the largest faith-based, nonprofit health care delivery systems in the United States and the largest in North Texas in terms of patients served. Texas Health’s system of 14 hospitals includes Texas Health Harris Methodist, Texas Health Arlington Memorial, and Texas Health Presbyterian, and an organization for medical research and education. Texas Health Organization for Physicians and Texas Health Physicians Group provide a variety of models for engagement with physicians. Texas Health Partners is a joint venture development and management company owned by Texas Health Resources. Texas Health MedSynergies is a joint venture that offers physicians a range of office management and other business services to support their practices. Texas Health is a corporate member or partner in six additional hospitals and surgery centers. For more information, call 1-877-THR-WELL, or visit TexasHealth.org.

Doctors on the medical staff practice independently and are not employees or agents of the hospital.