South Georgia Medical Center and the Valdosta-Lowndes County YMCA are teaming up to offer one-day Safe Sitter® courses for boys and girls in grades 6-8 (11 to 14 years of age) on June 22, 25, and July 16 from 8:30am-3:00pm in the SGMC B-Level Classrooms.  The cost of the course is $45 per child and registration is limited.

Safe Sitter is a national, non-profit organization that provides programs to teach youth life and safety skills for when they are home alone, watching younger siblings, or babysitting. The medically accurate course utilizes hands-on training to teach choking rescue and CPR so that graduates are prepared to act during a crisis. Most young teens lack the knowledge of first aid, rescue skills, behavior management techniques, and life experiences necessary for handling medical, behavioral, or household emergencies which might occur.

Participants of this course learn safety and security precautions and other tips that help develop their confidence in caregiving. They also learn safe and effective ways to promote their babysitting business.

SGMC has partnered with the YMCA to offer Safe Sitter for the past five years.  “The Y is Quality Rated and has great experience dealing with children. When you couple that with the hospitals desire to provide health education, it creates a perfect partnership in which to offer Safe Sitter,” said Laura Love, SGMC’s Community Relations Director.