Franciscan Health Lafayette East Earns Cribs For Kids® Infant Safe Sleep Hospital Certification

LAFAYETTE, Indiana - Franciscan Health Lafayette East has achieved Gold Certification as a Cribs for Kids® National Safe Sleep Hospital. 

Cribs for Kids is a national safe sleep initiative dedicated to reducing infant mortality. The hospital was first certified as a Cribs for Kids hospital in 2016.

This certification recognizes the commitment of team members to best practices in infant safe sleep, ensuring the highest standards of care for our youngest patients. By earning this certification, Franciscan Health Lafayette East demonstrates adherence to rigorous guidelines established by the Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program.

"Our team has worked diligently to meet the requirements to earn this certification and underscores our dedication to providing safe sleep care for our babies," said Marcia Cherry, MSN RN, chairwoman of the Franciscan Alliance OB/GYN Collaborative and director of the Women's Center, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Care Center at Franciscan Health Lafayette East. "We are committed to ensuring that every newborn and infant at Franciscan Health Lafayette East receives the highest level of care, including promoting safe sleep practices that align with the guidelines of Cribs for Kids."

From 2019-2023, Sudden Unexplained Infant Death (SUID) rate for Indiana was 121.6 per 100,000 births. This is higher than the 2021 nationwide rate of 99.2. Tippecanoe County was at 80.5 for the same time period. Data from the Indiana Department of Health demonstrates that suffocation caused by unsafe sleep environments is the third leading cause of death for all Indiana infants. 

In August of this year, the Indiana Department of Health put out a public warning urging parents to take extra precautions when placing infants to sleep, as more than 10 infants died in unsafe sleep environments in a few weeks. That number was higher than the state average of two unsafe sleep deaths per week.

"Sleep related deaths are the number one reason we lose our babies each year, 3,400 infants annually," said Michael H. Goodstein, M.D., neonatologist and medical director at Cribs for Kids. "We know that parents do at home what they see done in the hospital so modeling safe sleep and providing education to families will have an impact on infant mortality. Cribs for Kids program recognizes hospitals making this commitment."

Parents are reminded that infants need to follow the ABCs of safe sleep: Alone, on their Back and in a Crib free of blankets, pillows, bumper pads or stuffed animals.

"The National Infant Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program launched in 2015," said Judy Bannon, CEO, and founder of Cribs for Kids. "It is rooted in the Safe Sleep Recommendations made by American Academy of Pediatrics and the research that demonstrates families do at home what they see done in the hospital. There are over 500 infant safe sleep certified hospitals across the country and beyond. We are proud to have Franciscan Health Lafayette East as part of our program. It will have a profound effect on saving babies' lives."

For more information about Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program, visit, www.cribsforkids.org/hospitalcertification.