Arkansas Children’s Hospital Named a Gold Certified Safe Sleep Champion by Cribs for Kids National

LITTLE ROCK, AR. (Jan. 12, 2017) – Arkansas Children’s Hospital is committed to ensuring babies sleep safely. Arkansas Children’s was recognized this week by the Cribs for Kids® National Safe Sleep Hospital certification program as a Gold Certified Safe Sleep Champion.

When families visit Arkansas Children’s, they can be sure their newborns are sleeping in the safest manner possible. Parents, grandparents and support networks also have resources at Arkansas Children’s to learn how to make sure babies sleep safely at home.

As a Gold Certified Safe Sleep Champion, Arkansas Children’s Hospital has made the following commitments:

• Develop and maintain a safe sleep policy for all infants visiting the hospital.
• Ensure safe sleep training for staff who work on all units serving infants and children under a year old.
• Provide infant safe sleep education to the parents of all infants prior to discharge.
• Use safe wearable blankets in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and other areas where babies sleep.
• Perform regular audits to show progress and report success using the Crib for Kids checklist tool.
• Conduct outreach activities in the community related to safe sleep.
• Affiliate with or become a Cribs for Kids Partner.

“What is more precious than a sleeping newborn?” said Mary Aitken, MD, medical director of the Injury Prevention Center at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and a professor of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine. “It is our commitment to put children first from the moment they join the world. By setting the example as a Gold Certified Safe Sleep Champion, our team is helping families create a healthier tomorrow from Day One.”

Every year in the U.S., there are approximately 3,500 infant sleep-related deaths due to accidental
suffocation, strangulation, or undetermined causes during sleep.

Since 1998, Cribs for Kids® has been making an impact on the rates of babies dying of accidental, sleep-related death in unsafe sleeping environments by educating parents and caregivers on the importance of practicing safe sleep for infants, and by providing Graco^® Pack ‘n Play^® portable cribs to families who, otherwise, cannot afford a safe place for their babies to sleep. Cribs for Kids® currently has more than 600 licensed partners throughout the United States that implement our infant safe sleep program in their communities.