Car Seat Expert Helps Keep Local Kids Safe

LAURIUM, Mich. – Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital and Clinics has a new car seat safety expert dedicated to teaching local parents and caregivers on proper installation and use to keep kids safe.

In June, Jenn Jenich-Laplander achieved  her National Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Technician Certification from Safe Kids Worldwide, after completing an intensive, four-day training program in Marquette, Mich. Safe Kids Worldwide is a global non-profit organization working to prevent childhood injury through research, community outreach, legislative advocacy and media awareness campaigns.

As a CPS technician, Jenich-Laplander is certified to conduct a variety of community outreach activities including car seat checks. Car seat checks are designed to educate parents and caregivers on the correct methods of transporting children as safely as possible using car seats and seat belts. Car seat checks are free and available at two locations: Aspirus Keweenaw Laurium Clinic in Laurium and Aspirus Houghton Clinic in Houghton. To schedule an appointment at either location, call Jenn Jenich-Laplander at 337-6541.

“As a new mom, I want to know I’m doing what’s best and safest for my son while he’s in the car,” said Jenich-Laplander. “This training program did an excellent job of walking us through the process of checking car seats, selecting the appropriate size and installing them correctly. It was a great learning experience and we’re looking forward to educating parents and caregivers in the community.”

Aspirus Keweenaw is a partner of Kids Always Ride Safe (KARS), a car seat education program and low-cost car seat option for eligible families in Houghton and Keweenaw counties. KARS operates through the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning and provides vouchers for the purchase of child safety seats.

Jenich-Laplander is a familiar face in the community and at Aspirus as the marketing logistics coordinator and Aspiring Women coordinator. She’s looking forward to bringing the CPS technician skills she learned to upcoming community outreach activities.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment for a car seat check, call Jenn Jenich-Laplander at 337-6541 or email jennifer.jenich-laplander@aspirus.org.

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National CPS Certification Training is a program of Safe Kids Worldwide, which is the certifying body and responsible for managing all aspects of the program. We work closely with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (responsible for the curriculum), the National Child Passenger Safety Board (provides recommendations and guidance), and State Farm (our sponsor). For more information, visit http://cert.safekids.org/

Aspirus is a non-profit, community-directed health system based in Wausau, Wisconsin. With more than 7,000 employees, Aspirus serves communities throughout the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northern and central Wisconsin. The integrated system includes four hospitals in Michigan and four hospitals in Wisconsin, 50 clinics, home health and hospice care, pharmacies, critical care and helicopter transport, medical goods, nursing homes and high-quality affiliated physicians. For more information, visit aspirus.org.