On Monday, September 22, the Injury Prevention Center (IPC) at Hasbro Children’s Hospital was officially named the “Hometown Hospital” of Dorel Juvenile Group USA (DJG USA), the nation’s largest juvenile products company, which is based in Foxboro, MA.

As part of this new partnership, a $10,000 grant was given to the IPC along with a “Safety House,” a 4-foot tall model house filled with safety products to help families keep their homes safe for children. The donation was provided by Get on Board with Child Safety! (GOB), a partnership between Dorel Juvenile Group USA’s Safety 1st brand and the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI).
“Safety 1st is proud to partner with Hasbro Children’s Hospital, one of our hometown hospitals, said Vinnie D’Alleva, general manager of DJG USA. “Our commitment to Hasbro continues our company’s mission to educate parents, caregivers, and consumers nationwide about the importance of creating child-safe environments at home and on the road, and is just the latest extension of our efforts to stem the tide of preventable injuries to children.”

With this grant, the IPC will be able to offer new safety services to families of special needs children in Rhode Island. A portion of the event on September 22 included a training session in the hospital’s Children’s Neurodevelopment Center (CNDC). Clinical staff who make regular home visits to patients will now be able to offer in-home safety checks for the families with whom they work.
“The Injury Prevention Center at Rhode Island Hospital strives to provide injury prevention education and tools to all families throughout Rhode Island,” said Michael Mello, MD, MPH, director of the Injury Prevention Center. “With this new grant from Safety 1st and NACHRI, we can expand upon the CNDC’s great work with special needs families, and offer safety assessments and equipment to families that may be particularly susceptible to injury.”

At an upcoming meeting at the CNDC, the home-visiting clinical staff will complete their training to provide in-home safety assessments for patients and their families. The home safety checks are anticipated to begin later this fall.