Calvin Clark, 7, and his baby sister, Keionna McHoney, model the proper restraint in their safety seats. Their mother, Pamela Fuller, brought them to Martin Luther King Jr. Academy to a child safety seat distribution made possible by The USAA Foundation.
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Contact: Will Sansom, (210) 567-2579

SAN ANTONIO (April 17, 2008) — Parents and children pulled up in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Academy on San Antonio’s East Side, where child safety seat technicians greeted them, handed out new child safety seats and began instructing on proper installation and child restraint.

USAA Foundation provided grants to distribute seats
The USAA Foundation awarded grants to The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and its academic clinical partners, University Health System and the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital Foundation, to provide hundreds of child safety seats to eligible San Antonio families.

Related Topics: Facts about Child Safety Seats

“This is a national program. We do it in each of the communities where USAA has a corporate office,” said Barbara Gentry, president of The USAA Foundation. “Our goal is to make sure the community’s children are restrained properly. Many families are not able to purchase seats. Through this program they not only receive proper seats, but they learn how to properly install them.”

Ernest Guzman, who has five children, attended the distribution with his wife, Lucia Almanza. “It helps,” he said, but added, “We need more car seats. We are borrowing seats from relatives and some want them back.” Three of the couple’s children, Elijah, Sarah and Jonah, sat on the new seats.

Pediatrician Thomas Mayes, M.D., stresses importance of using child safety seats
Thomas Mayes, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the UT Health Science Center, offered a message for parents: “It is absolutely essential to restrain your children. You shouldn’t think of getting into your car without a child safety seat, just like you wouldn’t think of going anywhere without gasoline.”

Child life and safety personnel from University Health System and CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital assisted a dozen families throughout the morning at MLK Academy.

“The USAA Foundation is doing a tremendous community service in joining with pediatricians, family physicians and others to help families get their children properly restrained on the road,” Dr. Mayes said. “We are proud partners with the foundation in this child safety seat program.”

Safety seat checkups offered by appointment
Safety seat checkups are offered by appointment every Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. at University Hospital. To reserve a time, call (210) 358-4295.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $576 million and 5,000 faculty and staff, the UT Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $15.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The UT Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 23,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields. For more information, visit www.uthscsa.edu.