Due to her injuries, the caregiver can't identify herself or the child and first responders wonder if there is any vital medical information they should know about the baby. Moreover, they can't address him by name and have no way of knowing if the unconscious woman is his mother or how to notify any of his relatives.
Enter the WHALE program
DeLauna Jobe, Manager of Volunteers and Senior Advantage at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center, learned about the program, thought it was a great idea and wanted to introduce it to the community.
"In an automobile accident that renders the adult driver and passengers unconscious, rescue workers have no way of knowing about the medical needs of infant passengers," she says. "WHALE can make a big difference, especially in situations where the adults are not related to the child passenger."
Through the use of an informational label, which is placed on the back of a child car safety seat, and WHALE vehicle and car seat stickers, which are placed on both rear windows of the car and both sides of the car seat, the program provides rescue personnel with pertinent information about children riding in the car seats of vehicles involved in accidents. This information includes the child's picture, name, address, important medical needs and who to contact in an emergency.
WHALE finds support
"They ran a page one story with the WHALE logo and a color picture of our Facilities Management Director strapping her daughter into a child car seat," says Jobe. "Ever since that article ran, my phone has been ringing off the hook."
She even received calls from public safety officials in towns more than 30 miles away, including the safety officer at Vance Air Force Base, who wants to introduce the program to families there.
Jobe wrote letters to area law enforcement and rescue agencies to ensure that they will recognize the WHALE logo and look for the information labels on the backs of the child car seats. She also is ready to present programs to other groups that may be interested in partnering with the volunteers on this project.
The WHALE program packet is available free of charge at the hospital gift shop.
We Have a Little Emergency
St. Mary's Volunteers Support WHALE of a Program
While driving to the store with a baby in the backseat of her car, the child's caregiver is knocked unconscious in an accident. Rescue workers find the child is uninjured but emotionally upset.
When Connie Day, a child caregiver in Richmond, Va., imagined that distressing scenario, she developed the WHALE Child Safety Seat Occupant Identification Program. WHALE, an acronym for We Have A Little Emergency, consists of an identification and information package for child car safety seats. The program is now recognized in more than 30 states nationwide.
Jobe thought the WHALE program was something hospital volunteers would support. She was right. With funds raised through the hospital gift shop and coffee bar, hospital volunteers purchased WHALE information kits. To help with distribution, hospital volunteers partnered with the Enid Fire Department, which holds community car seat safety checkups. But the biggest boost came when the Enid News picked up the story.
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