Carbon County Safe Kids is now Kid Zone Blue Mountain Health System.

On Tuesday, during the organization's annual awards luncheon, the group unveiled its new partnership with the health system.Mindy Graver, chairwoman of the group, explained that the change comes as a result of new restrictions put on Safe Kids chapters by Safe Kids Worldwide. Many chapters, which are all volunteers, have dissolved as a result of the new restrictions.Graver said that dissolving was something the group didn't want to do.Following the announcement of the changes, Carbon County Safe Kids began talks with Blue Mountain Health System, which served as the organization's grantee for years, and agreed to a partnership."It's a great marriage that will keep this organization in the county," Graver said, noting that the group has been doing a lot to raise safety awareness, and this partnership will now allow for an expansion of services to children and families. "We'll continue doing what we've been doing."Lisa Johnson, vice president of public relations for the hospitals, agreed that this is a great move for the two entities.She said that the hospitals have been working on educating parents about childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes; this now helps broaden the education to expand wellness and safety issues families face."This will make it a bigger force for our community," Johnson said. "I think it's a really good marriage, and we will be able to do a lot of really neat things this year. We are thrilled to be helping to continue the organization."Graver said that the group will now be looking at what programs it can expand on. Currently, the organization does free car seat checks, an annual safety fair with Sen. John Yudichak; a car seat rental program; bicycle safety and various other safety related educational programs throughout the year.Kid Zone will continue to meet at 12:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month. A new meeting place will be announced at a later time.Carbon County Safe Kids was originally organized in 1995 to promote the prevention of childhood injuries in Carbon County through education, collaboration and advocacy.The organization has been a partnership of several agencies and individuals that provides broad-based support and diversity for educational activities. It sponsors effective injury reduction activities, promotes awareness and education among child advocates, and supports public policies and programs that reduce injuries among children and youth.Some of its member agencies include Pennsylvania Department of Health, Blue Mountain Health System, Carbon County Assistance Office, Carbon County Highway Safety Program, Pennsylvania State Police, Carbon County Head Start, Penn State Extension, Care Net, Carbon County Commissioners and Right from the Start.