Dr. Jim Dearth will be retiring soon as chief executive of Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. Under his leadership, it has grown to 275 licensed beds and 3,300 employees.

But some of those resources might not be necessary — or at least, they could be put to better use — if parents would be as careful as they should be in protecting their children from injury.

More children die from accidents and injuries than all of the sicknesses the hospital treats, The Birmingham News reports. And that’s why Dr. Dearth will continue to advocate using car seats.

“If we could get every kid properly restrained in a car seat, we could save more lives than if we found a cure for leukemia,” Dr. Dearth said.

Parents should be listening. Any child’s death is tragic, but one that could be so easily prevented is doubly tragic.

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