NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx Earns National Recognition for Infant Sleep Safety
First hospital in the borough designated as a Gold Safe Sleep Champion
Feb 28, 2018
NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx is the first hospital in the Bronx to be designated a Gold Safe Sleep Champion by Cribs for Kids®, a national safe sleep hospital certification program. To earn the designation, NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx demonstrated its commitment to best practices and education supporting infant safe sleep to help reduce the risk of injury and death to infants while sleeping.
“We are very proud to earn the Cribs for Kids’ National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program’s highest designation, Gold Safe Sleep Champion,” said Maureen Pode, RN, chief executive officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx. “This certification is a testament to the outstanding work of our highly skilled and dedicated staff and exemplifies our staff’s commitment to the community, making sure new parents are educated and able to create a safe sleep environment at home for their newborns.”
“We are proud of our Gold certification and the multidisciplinary collaboration involved,” said Chinyere Anyaogu, MD, vice chairperson of OB/GYN at NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx. “We are committed to providing quality care to the women and children who we serve in the Bronx.”
“This Gold certification as Safe Sleep champions reflects our organization’s dedication in providing quality care, education, and support for patients,” said Paula Brown, RN, OB/GYN nursing administrator at NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx. “The multidisciplinary team of Women’s Health Services and Children’s Health takes pride in the support we provide our families in reinforcing safe sleep practices at home.”
NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx was recognized for following the safe sleep guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and for its training programs for parents, staff, and the community. The hospital improved from Bronze to Gold status by successfully achieving all seven requirements, including educating parents, training staff, replacing loose blankets in the nursery and NICU with wearable blankets to model no loose bedding in the crib, and implementing a process to track and report progress to Cribs for Kids®.
NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx is committed to bringing safe sleep awareness to the community. The Women’s Health department holds a bi-monthly baby shower for expectant mothers to celebrate their pregnancy and learn about safe sleep practices for their newborns. Participating moms-to-be receive gift baskets that include a safe sleep sack. Breastfeeding support groups for first-time moms and other new mothers provide another opportunity to educate families on infant safe sleep practices.
In New York City, sleep-related injuries are one of the leading causes of death among infants, with 40 deaths in 2014 and 48 deaths in 2015, at a combined rate of 36.1 per 100,000 live births for 2014-2015.
In addition to NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx’s certification, the other New York City public hospitals that are Safe Sleep-certified by Cribs for Kids® are NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island and NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull (in Brooklyn), NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem and NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan (in Manhattan), and NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens (in Queens).