Safe@Home Class Prepares Children to Stay Alone at Home

Brookings Health System will again offer Safe@Home by SafeSitter®, a program designed for students in grades 4 to 6 to prepare them to be safe when they are home alone. 

Parents can register their children for one of two 90-minute class session times. A morning session will be held on Friday, May 22 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. An afternoon session will be held on Friday, June 12 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Both sessions will be held at Brookings Hospital’s Conference Room A.

“With summer break around the corner, older children may be staying at home by themselves for the first time,” said Paramedic Wendy Long, instructor for the Safe@Home course. “The Safe@Home education helps these kids understand do’s and don’ts while also giving parents peace-of-mind.”

The course teaches students how to practice safe habits, how to prevent unsafe situations, and what to do when faced with dangers such as power failures or weather emergencies. Students are also introduced to the Safe Sitter® First Aid Chart and learn a system to help them assess and respond to injuries and illnesses.

Safe@Home is ideal for students who have expressed interest in assuming the responsibility of staying home alone. The class costs $20; each session is limited to 20 participants. Parents may register their child by visiting brookingshealth.org/SafeHome.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic & Optical, and medical clinics in Arlington, White and Volga, South Dakota. It is a non-profit, municipal health system that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, emergency and extended care services. Brookings Hospital provides local access to doctors in Brookings and offers robotic da Vinci surgery and Mako robotic-arm assisted procedures, making it one of the premier rural community hospitals in South Dakota. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.