Take a Seat
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New parents preparing to take their baby
home from the hospital are always anxious
about that first car trip. One set of parents
at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center –
Hillcrest were especially nervous last winter.
They were bringing home preemie twins in
the freezing cold and dark, and in a sports
car. To top it off, they couldn’t get the babies’
car seats installed properly.
called for help, Melissa, who is certified in car
seat installation, didn’t hesitate to turn around.
“I’d been trying to help the dad, who is my
nephew, with the car seats for more than an
hour,” recalls Marsha Shofner, a case manager
at the hospital. “Even though the bases were in
the vehicle, there was a problem attaching the
car seats to the bases.”
Two hours later, having used rolled up blankets
to secure the bases to the car’s back seat, the
family was ready to go home. “My heart just
went out to them,” recalls Melissa of the young
couple. “All they wanted to do was get their
babies home safely.”
Meanwhile, social worker Melissa James
had just left the hospital to head for the
department Christmas party. When Marsha
Marsha and Melissa both missed the party, but
that was OK. “We don’t feel like what we did was
a big deal – it’s just what you do,” Marsha says.
“Car seats can be so hard to understand
and manage,” says Melissa, who herself
was stumped and had to call a child safety
instructor for advice. “We sent photos back
and forth on our phones trying to figure out
how to position the bases.”
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