CLIFTON — Officials at Goodall-Witcher Healthcare Foundation (GWHF) deemed its recent Bicycle Rodeo and Child Safety Seat Check a huge success. The event, held in the parking lot of Clifton Medical Clinic on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 7, drew dozens of participants.

“We gave out 24 helmets for both bike and trike riders, and we gave out seven child booster seats,” said Joyce McDowell, RN, BSN, CNA, LBSW, GWHF’s Director of Nursing Services/Trauma Coordinator.

The giveaway was part of a statewide effort, titled “Hard Hats for Little Heads,” designed to help prevent head injuries in children and to promote helmet safety in bicycling, in-line skating, skateboarding, and when riding scooters. Participants were given a safety presentation, and a bicycle rodeo obstacle course was held every half-hour. Facilitators were on hand to properly fit the helmets and to show parents the proper use of a booster seat.

“The kids really enjoyed the obstacle course,” McDowell said. She noted that GWHF hopes to host another such event in the spring. “We also want to try to have another Child Safety Seat Check at the local day-care centers in the coming months,” McDowell added.

According to the “Hard Hats...” program, head injury is the most common cause of serious disability or death in bicycle crashes. Program officials say these injuries and fatalities can be reduced by as much as 85 percent through the proper use of a helmet.

Any child is eligible for a free helmet through the statewide program, and since the program’s inception in 1994, Texas children have received more than 55,000 free helmets. The event was hosted by Goodall-Witcher, and was co-sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Medical Association, and Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center.