The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office Community Services Unit will be at the Stones River Regional Health Fair April 20at the Embassy Conference Center for one big reason: keeping the community safe.

The Community Services Unit will offer its Child ID program, demonstrate car seat safety with a state-of-the-art training vehicle, and give away free gun safety kits as part of Project Child Safe®.

The training car, donated by Nissan, includes belt systems from several different makes and models. The Community Services Unit uses every different kind of car and booster seat for the demonstration.

“One of the biggest issues we see—almost 90 percent of the time when we check—is that car seats just aren’t installed properly,” said Sergeant Jimmy Cassidy, who oversees the program. “We want to make sure parents get it right, because it’s an easy mistake to make.”

Child safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers ages one to four years old. 

Parents can also take part in the Child ID program during the Health Fair. Kids are given an ID for the parents to keep with a photograph and thumbprint. ID kits will also be available to take home, with an ink pad and temporary card.

The ID is for the parents, Cassidy said, in case a child is ever abducted or lost.

“It’s for peace of mind, more than anything else,” he said.

Parents will also leave with gun safety kits, including gun locks, which keep firearms inoperable until an adult unlocks them.

Project Child Safe—a national initiative—also teaches kids what they should do if they see a gun. It’s about awareness, Cassidy said.

“We’ll be giving away workbooks for kids to take home that will teach them all about gun safety,” he said. “It’s all about education. If we can teach them when they’re young, then hopefully it will stick with them for life.”

The Stones River Regional Health Fair is presented by Rutherford’s Best Doctors, a division of Stones River Regional Independent Physicians Association. It will be held April 20 from 10am-4pm at Embassy Suites Conference Center and is completely free to the public. Nearly 100 local doctors will be present, along with free health screenings, seminars, giveaways and demonstrations. 

For more information on the free services offered at the Health Fair, visit:

http://www.rutherfordsbestdoctors.com 

Source: 

Sarah Porterfield, Navagation Advertising