Mercer Health’s Childbirth Center has been recognized as a “Gold Safe Sleep Hospital” by the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program. This designation was awarded to the hospital because of its commitment to best practices and education on infant safe sleep. The program, created by Cribs for Kids®, is dedicated to preventing sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and accidental suffocation, and recognizes hospitals that are actively working to reduce these preventable deaths.
As a Nationally Certified Safe Sleep Hospital, Mercer Health follows the safe sleep guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and provides training programs for healthcare team members and family caregivers at the highest available designation level. This shows their dedication to providing parents with evidence-based information on how to ensure their babies sleep safely from day one.
Dr. Michael H. Goodstein, a neonatologist and medical director of research at Cribs for Kids, emphasized the importance of this recognition in reducing infant mortality: “Sleep-Related Death (SRD) results in the loss of more than 3,500 infants every year in the U.S. We know that modeling safe infant sleep in the hospital and providing education to families has a significant effect on infant mortality.”
Ashley Piper, RN, OB Clinical Coordinator for the Childbirth Center at Mercer Health expressed pride in their efforts to join the national movement to reduce infant mortality: “We have always been promoters of safe sleep. The Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification is an important step in our efforts to provide parents and caregivers with the evidence-based information they need to ensure their babies sleep safely from day one.”
For more information on the Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program or about Mercer Health’s Childbirth Center, visit