South Cook News

Franciscan Health Lafayette East has been awarded Gold Certification as a Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital, recognizing its efforts to promote safe sleep practices for infants.

Cribs for Kids is a national program aimed at reducing infant mortality through education and safe sleep guidelines. Franciscan Health Lafayette East was first certified in 2016 and has now met the criteria for the program’s highest level of certification. The hospital’s staff has implemented protocols that follow best practices in infant safe sleep, as set by the Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program.

Marcia Cherry, MSN RN, who serves as 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, said, "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. 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."

According to data from the Indiana Department of Health, Indiana’s Sudden Unexplained Infant Death (SUID) rate between 2019 and 2023 was 121.6 per 100,000 births, higher than the national rate of 99.2 reported in 2021. In Tippecanoe County, the rate was lower at 80.5 per 100,000 births during the same period. The state health department also reports that suffocation due to unsafe sleep environments is the third leading cause of death among Indiana infants.

In August, the Indiana Department of Health issued a warning after more than 10 infants died in unsafe sleep environments over several weeks, exceeding the average of two such deaths per week in the state.

Michael H. Goodstein, M.D., neonatologist and medical director at Cribs for Kids, stated, "Sleep related deaths are the number one reason we lose our babies each year, 3,400 infants annually. 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 encouraged to follow the ABCs of safe sleep: placing infants Alone, on their Back, and in a Crib without blankets, pillows, bumper pads, or stuffed animals.

Judy Bannon, CEO and founder of Cribs for Kids, commented, "The National Infant Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program launched in 2015. 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."

More information about the certification program is available at www.cribsforkids.org/hospitalcertification.