Spotlight on a Site Archive

In its 13th year as a Safe Sitter® teaching site, Freeman Health Systems helped its community cope with the unluckiest of circumstances. After a devastating EF5 tornado struck Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011, Freeman treated over 900 of its injured neighbors.

"Our hospital and community have both benefitted by having young adolescents who are learning life-saving skills and information they can carry into adulthood," said Site Coordinator and Instructor Fran Cloyd, RN.

Fran said she's satisfied knowing that, with each Safe Sitter® class, the number of adolescents trained to recognize life-threatening emergencies increases. "They know what do for themselves and others," she said, adding that, along with safety issues, emergency preparedness and first aid, she likes that students are also introduced to business and marketing skills.

Because of the good reputation of both Freeman and Safe Sitter®, there is never a shortage of students, Fran said.

"Our classes are very popular and fill up fast!" she said. "Our hospital is such a successful teaching site because Safe Sitter® is such a great program!"

Freeman Health Systems teaches two classes every July and August at the YMCA next to the hospital. After the fun of teaching, comes the fun of reading the student evaluations, said Fran.

Featured in the February 2012 Safe Sitter® Spot

If it were to have a "Sweet 16" celebration for its graduates, the guest list would be impressive. In 16 years, Chandler has graduated over 800 students!

"We've had the program long enough to see its motto work: Better Sitters Today. Better Parents Tomorrow®. Our first graduates are becoming parents." Missy said. "It is so awesome when students tell me they remember the program. It is a fond memory even for their parents."

Missy said her attitude about babysitting-namely, who is qualified enough to do it-changed once she became a Safe Sitter® Instructor.

Tweens, Missy emphasizes, are excited to be given the responsibility of babysitting and they love children. "They also do not think it is beneath them to play and interact with the children," she added.

And good babysitters, as we all know, rightly gain a good reputation for their skills, a fact that can make any Safe Sitter® Instructor proud.

Missy also teaches pregnant teens and one day she went into a high school office and the receptionist said, "I know you. You taught both my boys Safe Sitter®! They were the best and most popular sitters in our neighborhood. They loved the class."

Chandler Regional, which offers the 2-day Safe Sitter® course, has taught hundreds of young teens over the years because completing the course seems to have become tradition. Many of Chandler's employees have enrolled their children in Safe Sitter® and then told their friends about the value of the program.

""All of our Instructors' children have taken Safe Sitter® and look at it as a 'rite of passage.' I know my daughter looked forward to becoming old enough to take it with her twin cousins," Missy said, adding that support from hospital administration makes a major difference.

"Many in hospital administration have had their children take the course so they realize the value of it and allow us to promote it," she said. Course dates are placed in the employee newsletter and the hospital's public relations department also places ads in local papers. In addition, Missy distributes fliers at a local library that works closely with the hospital and supports the Safe Sitter® program.

Usually Chandler's Safe Sitter® courses are held at the hospital. However, teaching offsite has proven to be a pleasant experience.

"Due to moving manikins, we don't go off site very often. We were asked this year to take the class to a parochial school and teach after school," she said. "It was the first time we have done it. We had a great parent liaison and it was lots of fun. Both the students and Instructors enjoyed it."

Featured in the December 2011 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

McCullough Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford, Ohio is a small hospital. However, it's had a big, and long-lasting, impact on its community.

The hospital reaches out in many ways, including through Safe Sitter® classes. Its program hasn't skipped a beat since it began in May of 1989, and Site Coordinator and Instructor Carolyn Hensler intends to keep it that way.

"We continue to teach because the community counts on us," Carolyn said. "We believe it is important for young babysitters to have the knowledge to be safe and do a good job."

Carolyn said she enjoys teaching the Safe Sitter® course because it helps her keep a finger on the pulse of the young people in the community. "I like to recruit students through word of mouth from previous students because it works really well," she says. "I also get to meet families I might not otherwise meet."

It also affords Carolyn the opportunity to work with nurses from other departments in the hospital.

"We have wonderful caring teachers and a very supportive administration," Carolyn said. "Sharon Klein, our Director of Community Wellness (and the Safe Sitter® Assistant Site Coordinator) is always ready to help and support us in any way she can."

The hospital tries to teach at least four classes each summer. They occasionally teach a class over the winter break. "We take our classes to where the students are. We do this by teaching at least two classes in nearby communities our hospital serves," said Carolyn.

The community learns of upcoming classes through the hospital's advertising in the local newspapers and by fliers and posters placed in doctors' offices and the nearby middle school.

Instructors, however, are recruited through hospital email, Carolyn said. One new Instructor, Kayla Ponder, who trained this past May, is a Safe Sitter® grad. "She has been a great addition to our teaching staff-full of energy." Hensler adds.

With a teaching site that's been around for 22 years, it's not at all unusual that former students are now Instructors or want their own children to learn Safe Sitter® just as they did.

"At one class I taught this summer a young mother walked in with her son. When I looked up I was surprised and pleased to see a former student whose name and face I remembered!" said Carolyn. "Yes, I guess we have been teaching Safe Sitter® for a few years and it has been a great experience."

Featured in the October 2011 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

Jill Woodward, director of marketing at Hendricks Regional Health in Danville, Indiana, says her hospital has "consistently provided a quality Safe Sitter® program."

This is no understatement. The hospital has been a site for an impressive 21 years and teaches eight classes each year!

And Jill would know. She's served as Site Coordinator the entire time. That's dedication!

But Jill would modestly tell you that it's all about the Instructors.

"I have a wonderful team of Instructors and I enjoy so much their enthusiasm and appreciate their dedication. They love teaching and find it very rewarding," she said.

Jill says that excellent team of Instructors has a great reputation, which grew over the many years the hospital was the only organization in Hendricks County offering Safe Sitter®. The Instructors are known in the community for providing a creative program that's also fun. They are recruited primarily through the hospital's staff, as well as through acquaintances of current Instructors, Jill said.  

However, it's not just the community that reaps rewards from the program.

"Safe Sitter® has benefitted Hendricks Regional Health by bringing parents and students into the facility so that they can see firsthand what a great hospital we are-not only in providing healthcare but also in providing quality programs for the community," said Jill.

The eight classes offered annually, usually on Saturdays, include one weekday class in July and another during December's holiday break. E-newsletters, both the hospital's and the county school's, are the main method of recruiting students. Classes are posted on the hospital website and parents can conveniently register their children online.

Featured in the June 2011 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

Obviously, Safe Sitter® Instructors have the most direct contact with kids. But, that doesn't mean that Instructors are the only ones who benefit. 

At Affinity Health System in Wisconsin, the positive energy generated by the Safe Sitter® program flows throughout the entire hospital network! 

"It is great for our hospital to have a "kid presence." We take the group to the cafeteria for lunch and the staff enjoys having that energy around!" said Instructor Lori Deering, LifeSpan Department of St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, Wisconsin, a part of Affinity Health System. 

Because of that level of involvement with the kids, "The Safe Sitter® program is very popular with our employees and physicians," adds Site Coordinator Rita Svatos, who's been involved with the program since it began at Affinity Health Systems in August of 2002. 

By inviting kids to interact with hospital staff, Affinity also supplements Safe Sitter's life-saving education with a learning experience about the importance of health care. 

"I think it's important for kids to be exposed to the health care environment in a positive way since we all need health care at some point in our lives," Lori said. "Our health care system has other opportunities for youth including a volunteer program and Career Days." 

Lori, who previously worked in the hospital's Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Unit, enjoys teaching Safe Sitter® because it allows her to continue working with young teens. Plus teaching the program keeps her life-saving skills up-to-date. 

"I also teach puberty classes and have taught Faith Formation classes for youth at our church," said Lori. "I am a grandmother of three and Safe Sitter® reminds us that even grown-ups need to pay attention to safety when caring for children."  

All Instructors at Affinity Health System are health care professionals with a wealth of experience from teaching a variety of classes. Together, they'll teach an impressive 22 Safe Sitter® classes at three of their hospital sites in 2011! 

"We understand group dynamics and love the interaction with kids," said Lori, who adds that allowing kids the creative freedom to share their stories is an important component of Affinity's Safe Sitter® classes.   

"I get a kick out of the stories. This age group loves to tell stories!  We try to allow them as time permits as it engages the kids and helps us see how they internalize what we are teaching," she said. 

Featured in the April 2011 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

Stephanie Martindale saw a need in her community and filled it. 

Stephanie, who used to be an Instructor at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, brought Safe Sitter® to Brownsburg Fire Territory in Brownsburg, Indiana. As Brownsburg's Lieutenant of Public Education/Public Information Officer, she knew that Safe Sitter® would make an impact among a special population: young adolescents. 

Safe Sitter® allows us to reach that age group," Stephanie said of her department's 7-year-old program. "Normally, fire prevention and other safety messages are geared to elementary age so this allows us to promote safety at the middle school level." 

To publicize upcoming classes, Stephanie said she sends information to schools. The local library also advertises Safe Sitter® along with its other summer programs. 

Of course, the whole "coolness factor" of being a fire department site helps too! "I think the students like having a firefighter/EMT or paramedic teaching them," said Stephanie. 

Brownsburg Fire Territory has regularly taught 8-10 classes annually over the years. "If you define success by numbers, then I think we've done well but we would always like to reach more. If just one student is able to use the information learned, then it is successful," said Stephanie. 

Stephanie has even found herself using the information she's taught to help with her own child-rearing situations. 

"When I began teaching Safe Sitter®, my own kids were very little. I've used the techniques learned in Safe Sitter® on my own children and have seen them work," she said. 

"I really like the behavior management section because it allows people a better understanding of why kids can misbehave and how to prevent it." 

Featured in the February 2011 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

Lee Anne Peoples is Maria Parham Medical Center's only Instructor.

That hasn't stopped her from teaching 18 students per year at her North Carolina hospital, the only teaching site in the immediate area.

Lee Anne, a ¾ time employee, offers one class each June, July and August for six students each. And word-of-mouth makes all the difference! She especially enjoyed having her son, Dawson in one of her classes.

"We are still able to make a big impact. It is an extremely popular class and I keep a waiting list constantly," Lee Anne said. "Some kids that express interest in taking it after I offer my last class for the year have to wait until the next summer to take it"!

She is passionate about keeping the program going despite the difficult economy. "Businesses have frequently turned to cutting out services that are not financially profitable for them," she said. "Even though Safe Sitter® is not a 'money maker' for our hospital, it is seen as being intrinsically valuable to our community, in terms of the difference it makes in the lives of young babysitters and in the lives of the babies and children they babysit."

It's not a hard sell, Lee Anne says. "I think the content of the class sells itself"!

A nurse who works in the hospital's Women and Infants floor had gone over some infant CPR/rescue breathing/choking training with a first-time mom who was getting ready to be discharged with her baby. The new mother did such an especially good job with what she had been shown that the nurse couldn't help but comment on it.

"The young lady said that it was 'really coming back to her' because she had taken 'some sort of babysitting class here at Maria Parham years before.' It was Safe Sitter®!," said Lee Anne. "She had taken the class as a young adolescent and was here now having a child of her own, more than a decade later. And, even more amazing, she remembered much of the content from her class many years before!

Such student retention and devotion to the program is not unusual. In fact, it's the norm.

"The mom of a student that I had in one of my first classes told me that her daughter babysat for years until going off to college. To the mom's knowledge, she took her manual with her to every babysitting job until she moved away."

Featured in the December2010 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

The same five Safe Sitter® Instructors have taught continuously in Monticello, Indiana for 15 years and they still love it!

Site Coordinator Sharon Hartwell and Instructors Laura Bernfield, Deb Bunnell Cheri Sturgeon and Glinda Whitham have taught three to six Safe Sitter® classes each year. 

"The hospital does many community programs and the Safe Sitter® program is well known," said Sharon. In fact, after 15 years, the hospital receives calls from parents to be on the waiting list even before an announcement about classes has been officially released. 

Announcements are put in the local paper but, in this close knit community, it makes sense that news is spread by word-of-mouth.  "Many of our graduates still live in this community and we see them often. We have families where all of their children have taken the class. Whenever they see us in town, they always talk to us," Sharon said. 

Sharon added, "It's amazing to talk to graduates and hear them say they still have their Student Manual." She also enjoys talking to parents who express amazement at what their children have learned. 

Sharon's still energized by the experience of teaching. "We keep teaching due to what it gives our youth. They get a great quality class and learn so much. They gain self respect knowing they have completed something and have a base education to make them a better parent," she said. 

However, the class imparts more than just an education. It also helps a child's confidence blossom.  "The students are like little closed flower buds," Sharon said. "Some came to the class because they had to. They are quiet and shy but that only lasts one to two hours. Then they open up and talk and participate, meet many new friends, and have fun!"

Featured in the June 2010 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

Hospitals are all about keeping their communities fit and healthy.  That "fit and healthy" goal also appears to apply to Suburban Hospital Bethesda's Safe Sitter® program. The Maryland hospital has been a teaching site for 15 years-and it's still going strong. 

In fact, 2009 was one of its best years. Last year, the hospital taught 10 classes at its facility and 12 at area middle schools! 

Site Coordinator and Instructor, Eleni Antzoulatos, played a big role in reaching those impressive numbers. During her time at Suburban, she has personally taught over 80 students and coordinated 50 Safe Sitter® programs reaching over 300 students.  This is quite a feat when one considers that all of that has taken place during her four years as Instructor. She's spent the past two years as Site Coordinator, stepping into the role after having helped the previous coordinator. 

"It has been a rewarding experience as I am not only influencing the lives of Safe Sitters by teaching lifesaving skills they will need, but also impacting the lives of the children they babysit," said Eleni. 

Since Safe Sitter® is a popular class, continuous efforts are made to recruit Instructors by advertising in the hospital's newsletter and through the middle school's PTA distribution group. However, Eleni said Suburban's best marketing tool to recruit potential students has proven to be the students and the parents themselves. 

"They come home, folder in hand, and share what they learned with their parents, friends and neighbors," she said. During graduation ceremonies, parents listen as Instructors review the history of Safe Sitter®, what the students learned, and the role parents play in their child's babysitting career. 

"After leaving Suburban, parents are impressed with the program and the Instructors. The parents in turn talk to other parents and, before you know it, our classes are full," Eleni added. "We have received several letters of appreciation from parents thanking Suburban for maintaining these classes and recounting stories on how their child saved another child's life." 

Safe Sitter® is one of Suburban's most successful programs, Eleni stressed. "Parents in the community recognize that Safe Sitter® is a way to enrich their child's life and give them the confidence and skills needed for a successful future," said Eleni. "We continue in the Safe Sitter® tradition of making learning fun, interactive and based on real-life experiences." 

Nancy Borger, who's been teaching Safe Sitter® for Suburban for over 13 years, is referred to as the hospital's Safe Sitter® "guru," Eleni said. She was impressed with the course when her older son took it many years ago-and she's been teaching it ever since. 

"I think that the content is important for all students to take, whether they babysit or not," Nancy said. "There are lots of good life lessons dealt with in the class-from business strategies and first aid to rescue skills and behavior management techniques."

Featured in the April 2010 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

Instructors are the heart of Safe Sitter®! But there are some Instructors where words just aren't enough to express that sentiment. Lynda Nicholas, Site Coordinator and Instructor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, OH, is one of those people! Like Dr. Keener, who took the tragedy of the death of a child's life and started Safe Sitter®, Lynda did something wonderful with Safe Sitter® from a personal tragedy. 

Two years ago, Lynda's husband, Bobby, passed away suddenly. Instead of sending flowers, her fellow Safe Sitter® Instructors established a scholarship fund to teach Safe Sitter® at the elementary school her husband had attended. Lynda taught the class four months later in honor of her husband at the school, now located in a low-income area of the city. 

"Bobby was always proud of his roots," said Lynda. "The neighborhood has changed since he was a boy but he always had mischievous and fond memories for his grade school days."    

Along with another Instructor, they taught Safe Sitter® to 12 students. "This was a very rewarding class for Michelle and me," Lynda said. "Each student sent me a handwritten thank-you note for bringing this class to them. I think this would have pleased my late husband!"    

Lynda has been making a difference to the children in the greater Cincinnati area, northern Kentucky, and southeast Indiana since she started teaching Safe Sitter® 22 years ago! "I've found it rewarding to watch the students transform into Safe Sitters by the end of the class," Lynda said. "We teach 11 to 13 classes a year and take the program to schools, churches, fire houses, libraries, YMCA's, Girl Scout troops, in addition to the hospital's main campus and satellite locations."    

And for 22 years, Lynda has taught every one of those classes, except for two, totaling over 3000 students! "Of course my children and nieces and nephews have taken Safe Sitter®," said Lynda. "I even taught the life-saving skills to my family members."  

Those lessons have paid off! "My sister-in-law used what I had taught her when my niece choked on hard candy," Lynda recalled. "I have also used the choking rescue skills on two members of my family at each end of the age spectrum. My family still talks about the time I rescued my nephew who was choking when he was an infant. Then recently, I used abdominal thrusts on my 84-year-old mother-in-law who is handicapped and choked on celery while sitting in a recliner."   

Lynda, a pediatric nurse, said she has loved to be around young children for as long as she can remember.  "I would rush to my neighbor's home after school to play with their baby and little ones while the mother made dinner and I was only nine or ten years old! Later, I babysat for this family."    

The cycle of love for children continues. "Some of our Instructors' family members have been the Guest and then have taken Safe Sitter®. This has been fun for all of us when they are in class!"

Featured in the February 2010 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

With much enthusiasm, Director of Education Anetha Craft, RN started the Safe Sitter® program at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital in Lake Charles, LA, 18 years ago - and it's flourished ever since, said Site Coordinator Marta Benglis, RN. 

"Her energy, excitement and dedication to the program have been very contagious throughout the years, both to students and Instructors," said Marta. "Anetha is still very community-minded and interested in continuing to offer the program." Anetha, the original Site Coordinator, was responsible for bringing the program to the Education Department where she had the entire department of six staff members trained as Instructors. 

Lake Charles offered the area's only Safe Sitter® class for many years. And its popularity hasn't wavered. "There was, and is, a constant demand for the program and it has turned out a large number of Safe Sitters," said Anetha. 

The best think about Safe Sitter® is the students, said Marta, whose role as a mom, RN, childbirth educator and lactation consultant feeds her passion for families and infant care. 

"Every class is different because of the different personalities of the students. I love to see them gain confidence throughout the day," Marta said. 

And teaching alongside her fellow Instructors, Doris Marcantel and Rita Sonnier, provides an added joy. "Each one brings her own teaching style to the class which makes it fun. We work really well together," said Marta. 

The trio of RNs teaches 5-6 times per year with 12-18 students in each class. "We never have a problem filling a class!" Marta said. 

The efforts of the hospital's marketing department are what get those students to classes, she adds. The department prints out the fliers that are distributed in public places and mailed to various organizations. In addition, ads are run in the local newspaper. 

Marta said that she and her fellow Instructors are typically geared toward the childbearing family. Offering classes to adolescents has helped make the hospital more visible to the entire community. 

"The community benefits because better sitters today really are better parents tomorrow, as the Safe Sitter® saying goes," said Marta. She's noticed a number of expectant mothers who've signed up for her prenatal classes also eventually enroll their future babysitters in Safe Sitter® because the program is viewed so positively. 

"I have actually had several students in Safe Sitter® who had attended my prenatal classes…11-14 years ago. Of course, they were inside their moms and don't remember me, but maybe my voice sounds a little familiar to them!" Marta said.

Featured in the December 2009 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

The Monroe County YMCA in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University, has taken full advantage of its status as the heart of a college town.

"We have quite a large population of different cultures. I have had many students from around the globe," said Instructor and Site Coordinator Nancy Wroblewski.

"We also have a large child care center and the students get lots of experience working with the children as part of their Safe Sitter® class. We also have adapted the course for students with learning disabilities," she added.

The Monroe County YMCA has been offering Safe Sitter® for the past 15 years. Nancy, who's been teaching for 12 of those years, said classes are always full-even with 6 or 7 being offered each year.

"We have caring, educated staff that are passionate about their jobs. We are community-minded and a safe and happy place. This keeps everyone coming back for Safe Sitter® classes," she said.

To get those students coming back, classes are promoted through the Y's catalog, fliers, posters and the local newspaper. Instructors, on the other hand, are recruited through interested employees at the Y who enjoy working with young adolescents. Collaboration with Bloomington Hospital provides valuable assistance in teaching rescue skills.

"My students in the Bloomington community all become qualified safe babysitters," Nancy said. "Many parents are now highly encouraging their children to complete the Safe Sitter® course before they are allowed to babysit. This has developed many educated young adolescents who know and feel comfortable performing many safety skills."

All this, along with teaching classes in a beautiful facility with supportive staff, makes for an endlessly rewarding experience, adds Nancy.

"I have enjoyed every course I have ever taught," she said. "I feel good that the children in our community will be well taken care of by qualified Safe Sitters.

Featured in the October 2009 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

Deb Creque and Joan Koester of Flower Hospital in Toledo, Ohio not only deserve "flowers," they deserve an entire field. They've nurtured their program over the years and watched it grow. Deb and Joan, the only two Instructors, have been teaching since Flower Hospital became a site-almost 20 years ago!

They don't limit classes to just the hospital. Many classes are also taught at local schools and churches. Blanketing the community with classes has played a big role in the program's longevity. Deb, the Site Coordinator, says it's all about word-of-mouth advertising, which has proven to work best.

"It's a great program," she says. "It's benefiting the community as parents can go out and feel safe that their children are in good hands with a Safe Sitter® graduate. The children they are sitting for are safer because our students have been trained to prevent injuries."

In fact, Deb relates a story from a teacher at a church where Flower Hospital has a course. The teacher, who had a child who'd completed the Safe Sitter® class, said there was an incident at home where her youngest child cut himself seriously. His sister, the Safe Sitter® graduate, knew exactly what to do and handled the situation.

"The mother said, if she had not taken the class, she feels her daughter would have just panicked and not known what to do," Deb said.

Deb feels the comprehensive quality of the Safe Sitter® curriculum is why it's such a long-lasting program at the hospital. "It's more in-depth, containing techniques that help children become safer. The training is more clinical and hospital-based with its use of CPR manikins. The Safe Sitter® Manual is laid out to be informative. We do the one-day program which is much more convenient for the parents. And we provide the Safe Sitter® bag for each student to take all the information to their jobs."

Many of Flower Hospital's students ar following in the footsteps of their brothers and sisters. "They ask if we remember their older siblings as they want to be like them and take the responsibility to be a Safe Sitter® themselves. We get a lot of students from large families through the years who love the program and want to have all of their children become Safe Sitters."

Featured in the August 2009 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

How would you answer if you were asked why your organization is a successful teaching site? Laura Sullivan, a nurse at St. Mary's Hospital in Leonardtown, MD, didn't just give 1 reason, she gave 5! And, as one of the original Instructors and Site Coordinator, she should know!

Laura lists "great Instructors" as the #1 reason the program at St. Mary's has worked so well the past 14 years. "Safe Sitter® is taught out of our community education department called Health Connections. We are all parents, some with small children, others with teenagers (most of whom have taken the course), and even some (including me) with grandchildren!"

Laura gives credit to the students and their parents who see the value of the class as her #2 reason. "The information in Safe Sitter® gives them a great start for first jobs and reinforces safety information from their parents. We stress how this information can be used for years to come. For example, the safety signal can be used through their teen years when dating. On occasion I get the chance to meet the students again as adults in one of our parenting classes and I can see how the class has impacted their lives."

Hospital support for offering classes frequently and at convenient times is Laura's 3rd reason. "Safe Sitter® is offered 9 times a year. Most of our classes are full and often have a waiting list," Laura said. "St. Mary's is a smaller rural hospital that is growing and has some of the latest technology in the area!"

Although the classes are advertised on the hospital's website and through the Health Connections' quarterly publication called Healthy Living, most student recruitment is from word-of-mouth. And that's Laura's 4th reason for Safe Sitter's success in Leonardtown. "My wish is that as long as the kids and parents want to attend class, St. Mary's will offer it."

Now serving as the Assistant Site Coordinator, Laura feels the 5th reason is "an ever changing and growing area due to the presence of a military base in the area."

It's obvious there's another reason why St. Mary's is still teaching 14 years later - Laura! "I really enjoy working with the young people," Laura says passionately. "Safe Sitter® provides a class for young people to learn business skills, people skills, current first aid, and ways to handle not only young children's behavior, but also their own. I think it's a terrific way to enhance the learning of skills they all need to continue on the road to becoming successful adults and parents."

Featured in the June 2009 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

What do you get when you add one Instructor with a passion for Safe Sitter® to a community-minded healthcare center that's open to new program?

A winning combination!

In 1997, Louise Baca began her role as Site Coordinator and Instructor at Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House, New Jersey. She was later hired be AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Absecon, New Jersey. "I totally fell in love with the program," Louise said. "I always knew that I would someday offer this program at AtlantiCare."

And in 2003, Louise, an Oncology Clinical Research Coordinator, did just that. She approached her Chief Nursing Officer and asked if AtlantiCare could start a Safe Sitter® program. "She supported my request completely." Louise said. "I am fortunate, actually honored, to work for such an amazing organization as AtlantiCare. To be fully supported when bringing ideas or potentially new programs into the organization is truly magnificent.

Coincidentally, it helped that Baca was then President of the local chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing, Theta Sigma Chapter. In the STTI Chapter Leader newsletter, was a call for chapters to collaborate with Safe Sitter®. "I jumped at the offer," Louise said. "Our first class was a huge success and the program has been successful ever since!

" Louise laid a solid foundation which nurtured the program early on. She worked closely with the Public Relations and Marketing Departments, advertised in tech newspaper, and did a TV segment on the local television channel.

"We've found the best way to recruit students is through word-of-mouth," Louise said. AtlantiCare initially offered a class every other month.

"Word was spreading and we offered the class on a monthly basis by the second year!" Louise said, including classes taught to Girl Scout troops, local churches, summer programs, after-school programs and local fitness clubs.

Featured in the April 2009 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

Rapides Regional Medical Center (RRMC) in Alexandria, Louisiana knows this well. That's why their Safe Sitter® program has lasted 16 years. "Through the years, we have had many Instructors and they have all loved teaching the course," said Site Coordinator Karen Hathorn, RN, MSN, CNS.

As director of the hospital's Health & Lifestyle Center and the original Safe Sitter® Site Coordinator, Karen said her site has found a formula that works for them.

"We charge just enough to cover cost of supplies and lunch, so I feel it's a great bargain for our community. We offer the courses during school breaks and teach three or four times during the summer," she said.

Classes are advertised in the local newspaper as well as through fliers posted in the hospital. Contact with the community has expanded beyond the hospital's walls too. RRMC has taught church groups and even conducted a class at a junior high school for one hour each day until the course was completed.

And, since Safe Sitter® could not exist without caring adults who take the time to be trained and teach, the hospital has also served as a host site for Instructor workshops several times throughout the years.

"Our main instructors now are Marsha Reed and Denise Bordelon. They do a super job of teaching together and love every minute of it!" Karen said.

In addition to providing hundreds of babysitters to the local community over the years, teaching Safe Sitter® "has brought individuals to our hospital for classes, as well as created lifelong friendships," Karen added. "RRMC values the service this class provides - as well as the benefit of training young people to be "safe sitters".

Some graduates have gone on to health careers. However, all graduates impact the lives of younger children - through care they provide or by actually saving a life.

Karen said she still gets goosebumps when she thinks about Hannah and Rachel, two sisters who took Safe Sitter® in August of 2007. During the graduation ceremony at the end of the day, it was Hannah who demonstrated choking child rescue.

"Little did any of us know that four months later, Hannah, assisted by her sister Rachel, would perform the maneuver on her youngest sister, Tory, actually unblocking her airway and saving her life."

Featured in the February 2009 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

The Salvation Army in Mesquite, NV, truly gives the gift of education.

Safe Sitter's only Salvation Army site uses grant money to offer the course free to the youth in its rural community of 18,000. It also provides the Safe Sitter® kit to each student at no charge.

"We live in an area where many of the adolescents who take this training are low income," said Charlotte Alsman, Site Coordinator and Instructor. "Therefore, I felt it was important that initially we take care of the students' expenses."

Fortunately, they are able to take care of those expenses through a grant that the City of Mesquite offers once a year. The majority of the grant money goes toward supplying Student Manuals and messenger bags for each class.

"And in a community with only one day care center to accommodate forty children, a program like Safe Sitter® is a necessity," said Alsman.

"Because of this lack of day care providers, we literally have 'babies' taking care of babies. It is very scary to think how many children are kept in a small apartment with one 'older' child as a caretaker. At least we can teach our adolescents some practical skills," she said.

Alsman heard about Safe Sitter® through a friend and, as a teacher, it stimulated her interest. She checked it out on the Internet and discovered that the course was being taught at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. She contacted UMC's Assistant Site Coordinator, Sharon George, who invited her to sit in on a class.

"I was hooked! I felt it would be a great fit in our community," Alsman said. "It has benefited me personally to see our students absorb the information and then go out into the community and actually use the information and skills."

Featured in November 2008 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

In today's world, we often find ourselves searching for good news. You just have to look to Dalene Colglazier and Tammy Crites, Instructors at Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital in Burlington, CO, for some good news! "We are the only teaching site in eastern Colorado," said Dalene. "Tammy and I are both natives of this community and what we like best about teaching Safe Sitter® is the kids! We've taught a lot of siblings of our graduates through the years. It will be fun to teach our own children once they are old enough to take the class!"

Dalene and Tammy strive to make each participant feel special. "We use a lot of humor! Every student participates in the Ceremony. Each picks out what they feel comfortable demonstrating and they love it because they are able to show off their new skills. We are always so proud of them!

" Dalene had just graduated from college when she became an Instructor and the Site Coordinator in 1993. Teaching two classes each summer, she holds classes in the Kit Carson County Ambulance Shed, where she borrows manikins. Dalene feels one of the reasons the hospital has been such a successful teaching site for the past 15 years is that she has handpicked enthusiastic and dedicated Instructors like Tammy. "Tammy and I work together in hospice. She is a skilled RN, loving mother, and dear friend."

Featured in October 2008 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

Celebrating their 20th anniversary as a Safe Sitter® teaching site this summer, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital of Tampa in Tampa, FL, has thousands of graduates - many are parents looking for Safe Sitters of their own! "I have enjoyed teaching Safe Sitter® to so many students over the years," says Anna Hamby, Site Coordinator. "It teaches them the responsibility involved when caring for children and better prepares them to prevent problems from occurring."

Anna believes the success of their program is due to the commitment of both the Instructors and the hospital. "We have excellent Instructors who have taught Safe Sitter® for years. We always have fun with the students! One example is the Jeopardy game we play for review. The students love it and we announce the winning team at the graduation ceremony."

These committed Instructors taught 295 students in 26 classes last year. They also offered several CPR classes to graduates. "The hospital is committed to enhancing the health and well-being of children," says Anna. One way is through community outreach, especially in low-income areas. "Safe Sitter® provides the young babysitter with information to better care for the younger children they are babysitting. By offering this class, we are helping to ensure the health and safety of children in the community who are being cared for by our graduates.

Featured in August 2008 Safe Sitter® E Monthly

When Rebecca Taylor first heard about Safe Sitter®, she felt compelled to offer the program to the young adolescents in her community. Twelve years later, Rebecca has taught every class Lewistown Hospital in Lewistown, PA, has offered except one! Two of Rebecca's students have been her own daughters, Brittany, 14, and Hannah, 11. "My closest neighbor is a half mile away so it's important to me that my girls are safe!"

Safety issues are just one of the special challenges Rebecca faces teaching Safe Sitter® in a rural community. "Many families in our area are at poverty-level. Most are single-parent families or one parent is out of work. Typically we have two or more siblings from the same family in a Safe Sitter® class so financial assistance is necessary." Rebecca estimates one third to one half of the students access Safe Sitter® scholarships. "Since we provide the Safe Sitter® kit, the students have to be very creative to pay for the reduced class fee. They are willing to make sacrifices and work for the funds to take the class. They really want it!"

Although Rebecca advertises the availability of scholarships in press releases and fliers, she feels most families hear about the class and scholarships through word-of-mouth. Passionate about keeping children of all ages safe in her community, Rebecca promotes Safe Sitter® at every opportunity. One opportunity is when she teaches a class about puberty to young girls and their mothers. "I plant the seed! Many of the girls sign up to take Safe Sitter® when they are 11 and say, 'I remember you!'"

Rebecca has not only planted the seed, but has carefully nurtured the hospital's Safe Sitter® program watching it blossom. She enthusiastically says, "I just love teaching Safe Sitter®! It's such an exciting program!"

Featured in June 2008 Safe Sitter® FAX Monthly

Deanna Shisslak not only believes she can make a difference, she "walks the talk"! She promotes Safe Sitter® every chance she gets, and takes the extra step of using Safe Sitter® as a community outreach program to students from low-income areas. You feel Deanna's passion for educating today's youth, protecting families, and teaching the lifelong lessons in Safe Sitter®. "It's a privilege for me to provide the information in Safe Sitter® to the youth in our community!"

In addition to teaching 1 class a month at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, PA, for the past 6 years, Deanna makes sure students from 4 to 6 inner-city schools have the same opportunity. "They've been identified as at-risk students. By attending school and doing their assignments, they earn the privilege to take Safe Sitter® at the hospital," says Deanna. "They are from nontraditional families and I've learned how to teach the curriculum while respecting their situation and needs. For example, these kids do not go outside after 4:00 p.m. because of the possibility of gunfire." The students are clearly identified as needing financial assistance through the hospital's Communities in Schools program. Deanna says students in at least half of their regularly scheduled classes also access scholarships. She looks at each situation individually and talks with the parent to decide how best to help the family.

Deanna passed on her passion to her 20-year-old daughter, Natalie, a student in one of the hospital's first classes. Natalie recently became an Instructor and like her mother, is pursuing a career in nursing.

With her quick smile and compassionate, easy-going manner, Deanna finds solutions to break down barriers to make her community a better place to live. Deanna's dedication is inspiring!

Featured in April 2008 Safe Sitter® FAX Monthly

"I LOVE Safe Sitter®!" Whether she's saying it or writing it, you can feel Gina Flesher's passion when she talks about teaching Safe Sitter®. Gina, the Site Coordinator for Duncan Regional Hospital in Duncan, OK, has been teaching two classes each summer since the site began teaching in 1993.

Gina originally became an Instructor in 1991 for Liberty Hospital in Liberty, MO. When she moved to Oklahoma, she knew she wanted to take Safe Sitter® with her. "Duncan's slogan is 'Caring for Community' so Safe Sitter® was a perfect fit! We live by our slogan and by offering Safe Sitter®, we feel our babysitters are influenced early to make good decisions regarding the care of children."

Gina feels instilling safe practices is a key component for living Duncan's slogan. "It is a comfort to know that young babysitters recognize dangers and know how to react." Gina, who enjoys getting to know the students, feels it's important to have fun while teaching the important life skills. "When our graduates tell others how much fun they had as well as how much they learned, they are like a walking billboard for us!"

At least one of Duncan's Safe Sitter® graduates has proven that he recognized danger and knew how to react. "Several years ago, a mother took her three children to a local discount store only a week after her 12-year-old took the class. The store manager, a friend of the family, had given the children hard candy on their way out. Our Safe Sitter® grad quickly recognized his 6-year-old brother was choking and calmly used the skills he had just learned to rescue him. The life-saving moment not only impressed his mother but all the spectators as well! It was such a relief for the store manager and what great advertising for us!"

Featured in February 2008 Safe Sitter® FAX Monthly