Mercer Health Earns Prestigious Top National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification
Mercer Health’s Childbirth Center has recently been recognized as a “Gold Safe Sleep Hospital” by the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program. This recognition comes after the center committed to following best practices and providing education on infant safe sleep, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
As a Nationally Certified Safe Sleep Hospital, Mercer Health provides training programs for healthcare team members and family caregivers at the highest available designation level. This helps ensure that families have access to evidence-based information on how to keep their infants safe during sleep from day one.
According to Michael H. Goodstein, M.D., a neonatologist and medical director of research at Cribs for Kids, which created the certification program, sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and accidental suffocation are leading causes of sleep-related deaths in infants in the U.S., resulting in the loss of more than 3,500 infants each year. By modeling safe infant sleep in hospitals and providing education to families, these preventable deaths can be reduced.
Ashley Piper, RN, OB Clinical Coordinator for the Childbirth Center at Mercer Health expressed pride in their efforts to join the national movement to reduce infant mortality. She stated, “We have always been promoters of safe sleep. The Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification is an important step in our efforts to provide parents and caregivers with the evidence-based information they need to ensure their babies sleep safely from day one.”
For more information about the Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program or the Childbirth Center at Mercer Health, visit