National Black Nurses Association, Inc. 8630 Fenton Street, Suite 330, Silver Spring, MD 20910 · Phone: (301) 589-3200 · Fax: (301) 589-3223

NBNA Receives NHTSA Child Passenger Safety Grant

The National Black Nurses Association, Inc. was awarded a $145,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the "NBNA Child Passenger Safety Project". The funding for the two year grant will provide for training of a cadre of NBNA members as Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPST) and then offer instructor training to those trained as CPSTs. This training will provide a core of African American instructors who will be available to continue the training and build an expanded based of CPSTs within African American communities throughout the country. The goal of the project is to increase child safety seat use and the proper use of these devices in African American communities.

Over the two years, NBNA will conduct approximately six CPS Technician Training of 300 NBNA members and will train 20 of those technicians to become instructors.

Child safety seat use check-ups will be offered in collaboration with community based organizations. The check-ups will help residents who must transport young children to properly place the car seat in the vehicle and to show them how to properly buckle the child in the car seat.

"NBNA was a partner of the NHTSA Blue Ribbon Panel to Increase Seat Belt Use Among African Americans. NBNA members recognize the importance of buckling up and want to be trained in child passenger safety. The training has included continuing education sessions at national conferences and local chapter meetings", said Dr. Hilda Richards, NBNA President.

The National Black Nurses Association represents 150,000 African American nurses from the USA, Eastern Caribbean and Africa, with 75 chartered chapters nationwide. The NBNA mission is to provide a forum for collective action by African American nurses to "investigate, define and determine what the health care needs of African Americans are and to implement change to make available to African Americans and other minorities health care commensurate with that of the larger society."

# # #

RETURN TO THE TOP