Presenter Profile
Gia Ramsey, MBA, ADN, LPN, CPST-I
Division of Trauma
Maimonides Medical Center
gramsey@maimo.org
Gia Ramsey is the Injury Prevention and Education Outreach Coordinator at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. She has 14 years of experience leading data-driven injury prevention initiatives and coordinates the hospital’s involvement in the CPSC’s NEISS surveillance program. Gia is a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor and also holds instructor certifications in Safe Sitter, Stop the Bleed, Tai Chi for Arthritis, A Matter of Balance, and Stepping On. She serves as faculty for the American Trauma Society’s Injury Prevention Coordinator Course, chairs the ATS Webinar Planning Group, and leads the NYC RTAC Injury Prevention Subcommittee. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and in 2020, she was named Injury Prevention Professional of the Year by the NYS American Trauma Society.
Presentations
Scaling Pediatric Injury Prevention Education in NYC: A Collaborative Hospital-Based Model Using Safe Sitter® Programs
Gia Ramsey, MBA, ADN, LPN, CPST-I
Julia Glauboch, RN, CPST
Pediatric injury prevention efforts often miss preteens and non-traditional caregivers, despite their important roles in child safety. To address these gaps, Maimonides Medical Center became a Safe Sitter® site in 2016, offering competency-based and medically accurate safety training to adolescents in Brooklyn. Staten Island University Hospital joined the initiative in 2019. Together, the hospitals now deliver three evidence-based programs—Safe Sitter®, Safe@Home, and Grandparents: Getting Started—to provide age-appropriate safety education to a broad audience across NYC.
Each course targets a specific population:
- Safe Sitter® (launched 2016/2019): A full-day course for youth ages 11–13 covering childcare skills, safety, first aid, and CPR. - Safe@Home (added 2021): A 90-minute course for students in grades 4–6 focused on safe decision-making and emergency preparedness when home alone. - Grandparents: Getting Started (added 2025): A 3-hour class for older caregivers covering current recommendations on safe sleep, behavior management, and injury prevention practices.
In 2024, Gia and Julia supported the onboarding of NYCHHC Kings County Hospital as an independent Safe Sitter® site, expanding reach in Brooklyn. In early 2025, the NYC Regional Trauma Advisory Committee (RTAC) Injury Prevention Subcommittee was awarded a grant from the American Trauma Society (ATS) to support expansion of Safe Sitter programming across New York City. The grant funds onboarding at five new hospital sites—one in each borough—each of which will receive instructor training and student handbooks to implement one or more of the three Safe Sitter courses based on local needs. Sites are currently completing onboarding paperwork and preparing for implementation.
To date, over 100 youth and caregivers have completed courses at Maimonides and SIUH. Student evaluations show that participants find the courses engaging and practical. Common feedback highlights favorite parts of the class, such as learning first aid, practicing with manikins, or gaining confidence in babysitting. Many students express plans to use their skills to stay home alone, babysit, or care for younger siblings.
Caregivers participating in the Grandparents: Getting Started course report appreciation for current safety recommendations and hands-on learning opportunities. Expansion sites are on track to begin programming by late 2025, with initial onboarding nearly complete.
Safe Sitter programming fills a longstanding gap in injury prevention for middle school-aged children and caregivers. Through strong hospital collaboration and grant support, this model has scaled citywide while remaining responsive to local needs. The borough-based expansion offers a replicable blueprint for trauma centers aiming to embed evidence-based injury prevention across diverse urban populations.
1. Describe how Safe Sitter®, Safe@Home, and Grandparents: Getting Started programs support age- and role-specific injury prevention.
2. Understand the value of hospital partnerships and structured onboarding to scale education initiatives.
3. Recognize how external funding can support sustainable and equitable program expansion across geographic regions.