Presenter Profile
Cassandia Poteau, MS, CPST, CHES
Department of Surgery, Trauma Center
Boston Children’s Hospital
Cassandia.Poteau@childrens.harvard.edu
Cassandia Poteau is the Injury Prevention Specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital. She serves on the Allocation Committee and the Employee Advisory Group for the hospital. Her work in injury prevention is fueled by her passion for health education and preventive education, as well as her frequent interactions with the community. During her free time, she enjoys going to the gym, watching anime, and exploring new places.
Presentations
Child Passenger Safety Nurse Champion Program: Nursing’s Flourishing Ability in Car Seat Consults
Cassandia Poteau, MS, CPST, CHES
Barbara DiGirolamo, M.Ed., CPSTI
Deirdre Walsh, BA
Hospital-based child passenger safety (CPS) technicians are an excellent source of information and can provide child safety seats (CSS) to those in need. However, their availability may be limited due to competing demands. With the increasing community demands on technicians, the CPS Nurse Champion program was created to provide education and training to nurses to increase their knowledge and level of skill in handling car seat consults. We classify this group of staff nurses interested in obtaining CPS education and training and/or who have completed their training as "CPS Champions". They are present to provide information and seats when the CPS technicians are unavailable.
Members of the Injury Prevention (IPP) and Surgical Nursing Programs created the Child Passenger Safety Nurse Champion Program to achieve CPS competency for nurses. The course is comprised of a lecture component and a hands-on component. Participants rotated through three different one-hour breakout sessions: 1) Traditional car seats 2) Infant car seat and Dream ride car beds 3) Modified EZ-On vest. Instructors evaluated whether or not the nurses met the core competency standards for each seat/bed. Participants completed a program evaluation at the end of the course. It is important to note that the CPS Nurse Champion program and the Infant Tolerance Screening are two different forms of nursing education.
Following the implementation of the CPS Nurse Champion program, there was an increase in nurses requesting car seats for their patients without consultation from hospital-based CPS technicians. There was little change between 2019 (total request of 166) and 2020 (total request of 167) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a post-COVID era, the request for car seats by nurses has risen each year, with 2022 seeing the highest request at 413.
The creation of the CPS nurse champion program is an essential education portion for nurses working in the field of pediatrics. Child passenger safety is a crucial piece to consider when caring for a child at a pediatric hospital as care and safety should always be the top priority. Since CPS technicians are not available 24/7, it is ideal to have nurses trained in CPS education, so families can receive assistance when a CPS technician is not available. The nurses can rely on their knowledge and skills to help families get the proper car seat for their children. However, nurses are still able to connect with CPS technicians if they encounter a child that may need a specialty restraint.
1. There has been an increase in car seat distribution during the hospital’s off hours.
2. Child passenger safety technicians have experienced a reduction in pages of non-complex patients needing car seats.
3. Child passenger safety champions continue to contact hospital-based CPS techs for assistance with complex patients.