Vim & Vigor - Fall 2018 - Community Healthcare - 3

COMMUNITY BRIEFS
Staff members from Community Hospital,
St. Catherine Hospital and
St. Mary Medical Center gather with the
certificate awarded to Community Healthcare
System's Family Birthing Centers for
designation as Safe Sleep Champions.

NURSERY SAFE SLEEP
PRACTICES ARE GOLD

Hospitals recognized for new parent education efforts
The hospitals of
Community Healthcare
System are making a difference in the way parents prepare their
babies for sleep. Community Hospital,
St. Catherine Hospital and
St. Mary Medical Center have been recognized as Gold Safe Sleep Champions
by the National Safe Sleep Hospital
Certification program.
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.
"Unless instructed otherwise, infants
should sleep on their backs by themselves in a safety-approved crib," says
Community Hospital clinician and neonatal nurse educator Mary Puntillo. "The
crib should be empty, the mattress flat
and baby should be dressed in a blanket
sleeper. This is a lot to remember, but it is
as simple as ABC:"

A-All by myself
B-Positioned on the back
C-In a safety-approved crib
Working through the Northwest
Indiana Patient Safety Coalition
(NWIPSC), the hospitals of
Community Healthcare System, along
with other local healthcare systems, continue to impart the importance of safe
sleep methods to parents while babies
are still at their birthing centers. Some
of the best practices and education
implemented in the nurseries include parent education and modeling safe sleep
through a wearable blanket program.
"We include information on preventing sudden unexpected infant deaths
in our discharge teachings, through
printed materials and use of onesie
sleep sacks," says Tracy Sharp, RN,
St. Catherine Hospital nurse manager.
The need for ongoing education is
great. Indiana's infant mortality rate continues to be one of the highest in the
nation, according to the Indiana State

Department of Health.
Indiana ranks 43rd in
the nation in infant mortality. Of the 623 sudden unexplained infant
deaths in Indiana in 2016
(the majority of which were determined
to be from sudden infant death syndrome
or accidental suffocation in bed), 57
occurred in the northwest region. There
is a sizable racial disparity, with black
infants in Indiana 2.3 times more likely to
die before their first birthday than white
infants, 2.2 times more likely in the northwestern region and 3.1 times more likely
in the northern region.
"This is one of our most vulnerable
populations that counts on our support," says Lisa Leckrone, chairman of the
NWIPSC and Quality Assurance director,
St. Mary Medical Center. "We are united in
safe sleep practices and work together to
provide the same education and message
to improve the overall maternal and infant
health in Northwest Indiana." ■

WEBSITE

Caring for
Moms and Babies
For more information about
the Family Birthing Centers at
the hospitals of Community
Healthcare System, visit
comhs.org/baby.

FALL 2018

3
http://www.comhs.org/baby
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