NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan Earns National Recognition for Infant Sleep Safety
First hospital in Manhattan designated as a Gold Safe Sleep Champion
May 14, 2018
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan is the first hospital in Manhattan 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/Metropolitan 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 of our Gold Safe Sleep Champion designation from the Cribs for Kids’ National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program,” said Alina Moran, MPA, chief executive officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan. “Our team of highly skilled and dedicated staff is committed to providing parents in our community with the support and education they need to keep newborns safe and healthy.”
“The Gold certification recognizes our mission of making babies as safe as possible in their sleep environments and eliminating as many sleep-related injuries and deaths as possible,” said Sari Kaminsky, MD, chief of OB/GYN at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan. “We take great pride in the high-quality care and education that we provide to our families in reinforcing safe sleep practices at home.”
“This Gold certification as Safe Sleep champions reflects our commitment to preventing sleep-related injuries and deaths through evidence-based practice, parent education, staff training, and community outreach,” said Mary Carty, RN, senior associate director of nursing, Women’s Health Center, NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan. “We have trained our staff on the importance of safe sleep for newborns, and we educate new parents on safe sleep practices.”
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan 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/Metropolitan is committed to bringing safe sleep awareness to patients and families. The Women’s Health Center offers educational training and support for expectant mothers to learn about safe sleep practices, and all mothers are provided with a safe sleep sack for their newborns. Breastfeeding support groups for first-time and other new mothers provide another opportunity to educate families on infant safe sleep practices. The hospital was recently awarded “Baby-Friendly” designation for its work promoting breastfeeding.
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/Metropolitan’s certification, the other New York City public hospitals that are Safe Sleep-certified by Cribs for Kids® are NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx (in the Bronx), NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island and NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull (in Brooklyn), NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem (in Manhattan), and NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens (in Queens).
For more information about the Women’s Health Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, visit nychealthandhospitals.org/metropolitan or call 212-423-7769.