Injury Prevention for Kids and Families

Our Child Safety Programs in Central Massachusetts and Beyond

The injury prevention programs at UMass Memorial Medical Center – Children’s Medical Center provide the education, equipment and support your family needs to stay safe. Our informative, kid-friendly programs teach children and caregivers how to identify and avoid common safety risks in the home and at play.

Our experienced injury prevention specialists work with schools, community organizations and individuals across Worcester County to reduce the impact of traumatic childhood injuries.

Child Passenger Safety

Our Child Passenger Safety program provides car seat checks and education on age-appropriate safety restraints, such as car seats, boosters and seat belts. Our experienced team includes instructors and technicians certified by the National Child Passenger Safety Board. They can help you select the right device for your child’s needs and provide hands-on assistance to ensure you’re using it correctly.

Our experts are available weekly, by appointment, for car seat checks and training. We also work with families whose children are hospitalized and may have special seating needs due to injuries or medical conditions. In addition, our car seat technicians offer courses for community events and organizations.

Email us to schedule a free car seat check by a certified technician.

Helmet Safety Program

Our Helmet Safety Program helps prevent head injuries and encourages children and adolescents to use safe riding practices. In collaboration with UMass Memorial’s Child Life Program, we provide free helmets and individualized fittings for children (18 and under) who visit our hospitals with injuries from wheeled sports (bicycles, e-bikes, rollerblades, scooters and skateboards).

We also do community outreach by distributing helmets to children in underserved areas who may lack access to proper protective equipment.

We provide age-specific safety education and show caregivers how to: 

• Fit and secure helmets
• Select certified replacement helmets as children get older
• Encourage consistent, correct helmet use

Safety Quest

Safety Quest is a traveling classroom that provides injury prevention education to 5th graders. In collaboration with Fundación MAPFRE insurance agency, we visit schools, youth programs and community events to promote safety awareness through engaging, immersive activities designed for kids. Each year, we visit an average of 2,000 students across 40+ schools in Worcester County.

In our Safety Quest RV, participants use video games and other immersive experiences to identify common safety hazards in their homes and neighborhoods. Topics include:

• Water safety
• Fire emergencies
• Road risks and pedestrian awareness
• Poisoning prevention

Email us to learn more about this program or schedule the Safety Quest RV for your classroom or event. You can also visit SafetyQuest.org to download a free activity book.

Teen Driver Program

Teen RIDE (Reality Intensive Driver’s Education) teaches safe driving to teens who are first-time motor vehicle offenders. This program is run in partnership with the Worcester Juvenile Court and Brain Injury Association of MA (BIA-MA).

The court-referred training program includes presentations and conversations with injury prevention specialists, trauma surgeons and our collaborators at the BIA-MA to help adolescents identify and change risky behaviors, such as speeding and texting while driving. Guest speakers give real-life testimonials about the consequences of unsafe driving. We encourage caregivers to talk to their teens about driving hazards and put the rules of the road in writing with our teen-parent driving agreement.

More Resources for Injury Prevention at UMass Memorial

We offer several resources to help your family stay safe and healthy. Learn more about UMass Memorial’s full range of injury prevention programs, including Stop the Bleed, Guns 2 Gardens Gun Buyback and Aging Gracefully (fall prevention for older adults).