Eight NYC Health + Hospitals Sites Recognized with Safe Sleep Designation

Eight NYC Health + Hospitals Sites Recognized with Safe Sleep Designation

Aug 30, 2023

NYC Health + Hospitals today announced that four of its hospitals were recognized for educating parents about safe sleep practices for newborns. Safe Sleep practices help reduce the chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Cribs for Kids, a national organization dedicated to promoting safe sleep education, awarded NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx, and NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health with a gold-level designation and NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue with a silver-level designation. The designation lasts for five years, and all four hospitals have been recognized previously. They join four other sites in the health system. All NYC Health + Hospitals facilities promote safe sleep practices for new mothers and families with infants.

“NYC Health + Hospitals is proud to champion safe sleep practices at all of our facilities,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Machelle Allen, MD. “Every parent and caregiver of infants should learn about safe sleep to make sure they are providing the best possible environment for a child to live and grow. Thank you to Cribs for Kids for the extraordinary work you do and for recognizing our sites’ commitment to infant safety.”

A safe sleep environment for an infant includes the following:

• Use a firm sleep surface covered by a fitted sheet; a crib, bassinet, portable crib, or play yard that meets the safety standards of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is recommended.
• Your baby should not sleep in an adult bed, on a couch, or on a chair alone, with you, or with anyone else.
• Sitting devices like bouncy seats, swings, infant carriers, or strollers should not be used for routine sleep.
• Keep soft objects such as pillows, blankets, toys, and bumpers out of your baby’s sleep area.
• Always place a baby on his or her back to sleep for naps and at night to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
• Keep your baby’s sleep area in the same room where you sleep (for the infant’s first year). Room sharing, not bed sharing. Always place the baby in a safety-approved crib, bassinet, or portable crib for sleep.
• Do not use wedges and positioners.
• Do not smoke during pregnancy or allow smoking around your baby.
• Do not let your baby get too hot during sleep.

The full list of NYC Health + Hospitals sites with the Cribs for Kids safe sleep designation is as follows:

• BRONX
  • NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx, Gold

• BROOKLYN
  • NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, Bronze
  • NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, Gold

• MANHATTAN
  • NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, Silver
  • NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, Bronze
  • NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, Gold

• QUEENS
  • NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, Gold
  • NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, Gold

Cribs for Kids’ National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification program recognizes hospitals and hospital systems for their commitment to infant safe sleep to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and unsafe sleep…