Forrest City Medical Center was recently recognized by the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program as a Bronze Safe Sleep Hospital for their commitment to best practices and education on infant safe sleep. They are one of many hospitals in Arkansas to receive this title, and one of only two in eastern Arkansas.
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. In addition to being Cribs for Kids® partners, Forrest City Medical Center was recognized for following the safe sleep guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and providing training programs for parents, staff, and the community.
“Sleep-Related Death (SRD) results in the loss of more than 3,500 infants every year in the U.S.,” said Michael H. Goodstein, MD, 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.” This program is aligned with the Maternal Child Health Bureau's vision of reducing infant mortality through the promotion of infant sleep safety as outlined in Infant Mortality CoIIN Initiative. Forty states have designated SIDS/SUID/SRD as their emphasis to reduce infant mortality.
Arkansas has the second highest infant mortality rate in the nation, with 8.2 deaths for every 1,000 live births. That translated to 307 infant deaths in 2017.* “We want to do everything we can to eliminate as many sleep-related infant deaths as possible,” said Leslie Harris, chief nursing officer at Forrest City Medical Center. “Cindy Childers and the rest of our Labor & Delivery staff have put in a lot of work developing a Safe Sleep Policy as part of our commitment to reduce sleep-related deaths.” In addition to being educated on infant safe sleep, Harris stated that the staff has also been trained to provide infant safe sleep education to the parents of infants born at Forrest City Medical Center, before the infants are discharged.