Kern Medical Launches Safe Home, Safe Baby Community Program

Bakersfield, Calif. – April 10, 2017 – Kern Medical announces the launch of Safe Home, Safe Baby, a community education program to keep families and children safe at home. Kern Medical has collaborated with the Bakersfield Firefighter’s Burn Foundation, First 5 Kern and the Kern County Department of Public Health to bring safety education and awareness to all families in Kern County.

Safe Home, Safe Baby includes monthly educational classes offered to new and expecting parents, where they will receive education on how to prevent burns and scalds, learn about the importance of smoke detectors, and how to create a safe sleeping environment for babies.

Attendees will receive Safe Home, Safe Baby education including a fire and burn safety kit that includes a smoke detector, a scald prevention card, which is a single-use card that can be used by parents to determine the appropriate water temperature for a bath, and a portable crib for individuals that meet certain criteria. Classes are offered monthly in English, however a Spanish translator is available at all classes for Spanish-speaking individuals.

“We want to bring awareness to the dangers that can occur at home, and educate our community to help decrease the incidence of preventable injuries and even death,” said Russell Judd, CEO of Kern Medical. “By joining forces with partners like the Burn Foundation and First 5, Kern Medical is able to reach more of our community and help create safer homes in Kern County.”

The Safe Home, Safe Baby monthly educational classes will include presentations by the Bakersfield Firefighter’s Burn Foundation, as well as Kern Medical nurses and physicians. The first class will be held on Wednesday, April 26 at 6 p.m. in room 1058 at Kern Medical. To attend, please register by calling (661) 326-2606.

On April 11, Kern Medical will launch the community program by hosting a lunch, presentation and Q&A for Safe Home, Safe Baby partners in room 1058 from Noon to 1 p.m. PT. Media is invited to attend.

In California, scalds are the leading cause of burn center admissions for children under five, and many injuries happen in predictable, preventable ways, such as spilling hot coffee or tea, or running bath water too hot.

About two thirds of home fire deaths happen in homes that don’t have smoke alarms or working smoke alarms. Children and older adults are twice as likely to die in a home fire.

SUID is the leading cause of death among babies 1 to 12 months old, and 90 percent occur before 6 months. Babies can accidentally suffocate or choke to death when soft bedding covers the nose and mouth.

About Kern Medical:
Kern Medical serves as Kern County’s only trauma center and provides all members of the community access to basic and specialty care through a network of clinics, physicians and affiliated medical groups. It is the area’s only academic training hospital and has an affiliation with the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. In addition to its main campus, it operates outpatient clinics on Columbus Street, Truxtun Avenue, and Stockdale Highway for nearly 120,000 patients each year.