Recently, the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program recognized Mercer County Community Hospital as a “Gold Safe Sleep Hospital.” This honor came after the hospital demonstrated its commitment to best practices and education on infant safe sleep. The program, which was created by Cribs for Kids®, is dedicated to preventing sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and accidental suffocation through modeling safe sleep in hospitals and educating families.
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 means that parents and caregivers can trust that their babies will receive the best possible care when it comes to safe sleeping.
Michael H. Goodstein, M.D., neonatologist and medical director of research at Cribs for Kids, spoke about the importance of this certification: “Sleep-Related Death 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. The Cribs for Kids Hospital Certification Program is designed to recognize those hospitals that are taking an active role in reducing these preventable deaths.”
Ashley Piper, RN, OB Clinical Coordinator for the Childbirth Center at Mercer Health expressed pride in their efforts to join this 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.”
If you’re interested in learning more about this program or want to schedule your next delivery at Mercer Health’s Childbirth Center, you can visit