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10/22/2020
The Wentworth-Douglass Hospital Women & Children’s Center was recently recognized by the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program as a “Gold Certified Safe Sleep Hospital,” for its commitment to best practices and education on infant safe sleep. It is one of only two hospitals in New Hampshire to receive the Gold Certified Safe Sleep Hospital title.
The National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program was created by Cribs for Kids®, a Pittsburgh-based organization dedicated to preventing infant, sleep-related deaths due to accidental suffocation.
The Gold Certified Safe Sleep Hospital distinction recognizes Wentworth-Douglass Hospital’s adherence to safe sleep guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and for providing infant safe sleep training to its Women & Children’s Center staff. In addition, the hospital also provides infant safe sleep education to all new families, including informational pamphlets and community outreach efforts, such as childbirth education courses.
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital strengthens its efforts in avoiding infant sleep-related deaths by supplying preventative resources, such as portable cribs and infant sleep sacks, to families who, otherwise, could not afford to provide their baby with a safe sleep environment.
“Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has been practicing safe sleep guidelines and providing safe sleep education for many years, but this certification recognizes those efforts and allows us to share what we were already passionate about with the community,” said Alison Zirpolo, CCLS, CTRS, Child Life Coordinator at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. “It recognizes the efforts in education and support to families regarding the health and well-being of newborns.”
“Sleep-Related Death (SRD) results in the loss of more than 3,500 infants every year in the U.S.,” said Michael H. Goodstein, M.D., neonatologist and medical director of research at Cribs for Kids®. “We know that consistent education can have a profound effect on infant mortality, and this program is designed to encourage safe sleep education and to recognize those hospitals that are taking an active role in reducing these preventable deaths.”
For more information, visit the Cribs for Kids® National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program.
For more information about Wentworth-Douglass Hospital’s Women & Children’s Center, visit https://www.wdhospital.org/wdh/services-and-specialties/women-and-childrens-center.