Home Makeover - Indianapolis, IN

On Monday, July 18, 2005, a Riley Hospital for Children family opened their home to the media and received a complete home safety makeover from a partnership with the Get On Board with Child Safety campaign and Riley Hospital. The Hams who have four children – ages 18 months to 6 years – the eldest who is mildly autistic, agreed to a safety makeover to prevent their children from becoming part of the nation’s 2,000 children, ages 15 and younger, who die annually as a result of unintentional injuries they suffer at home. For every one of these children, another 1,500 sustain serious injuries in the home.

“The safety makeover at the Ham residence will increase public awareness about the need to prevent unintentional injuries and serve as a model to other Indiana families to follow in their respective homes,” says Cara Fast, manager of Riley Safety Store and Child Injury Prevention Program for the Community Education and Child Advocacy Department.

Childproofing items installed in the Ham’s home included: cabinet latches, safety gates, outlet plug covers, car seats, booster car seats and carbon monoxide detectors. These safety products are also available for Indiana families at the Riley Safety Store, the first of its kind in the nation to serve the needs of all children, including children with special health care needs, with access to low-cost products and injury prevention education.