crappy "tech"; make a complaint?

I went to a maternity orientation session at my local hospital recently, and I was pretty shocked by the presentation made about car seats. The woman who made the presentation apparently checks the car seats of the parents leaving the hospital with new babies. She did not make it clear whether she was certified (or had had any training whatsoever).

She made several erroneous statements about carseats (couldn’t keep the types straight at akk, said things about convertible carseats, infant carseats, and booster seats which weren’t true), showed a dated video, and gave us a dated informational brochure. The video and brochure both feature types of carseats which I believe have been/are being phased out, like the overhead shield, the T shield, a booster with a shield, etc., and she she neglected to point this out out.

She made it very clear that she only understands infant car seats—and not everyone is going to leave the hospital with infant-only carseats (and I seriously doubt whether she understands infant car seats, because I mentioned the height limit on them, and it totally flustered her).

This presentation could be very, very confusing and misleading to first-time parents who know little about carseats. It almost would have been better to omit this segment. I'm thinking seriously of complaining to the hospital. What should I say?

If she is giving incorrect information, you should definitely tell the hospital. Not only is that a liability issue for them, but most importantly it is a safety issue for all the other parents who probably believe they are getting correct advice.

If you know of a technician instructor in your area, you might contact them as well. If you don't know one, start with your state contact at http://www.cpsboard.org/state.htm and they should be able to refer you to one.

Definitely tell the hospital! The exact same thing was going on at Salem Hospital here in Oregon and we got them to cut that segment out of their classes. We are putting together a piece for them to include in their curriculum that will involve having a local certified tech come in and speak for an evening. They are then invited to come to a clinic the next day to have their new seats installed properly and learn "hands-on" how to install their own seats.