Recently, Mercer County Community Hospital was recognized as a “Gold Safe Sleep Hospital” by the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program. This distinction was awarded due to their commitment to following best practices and providing education on infant safe sleep. The program, created by Cribs for Kids®, is a national infant safe sleep organization based in Pittsburgh, PA that aims to prevent sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and accidental suffocation.
As a Nationally Certified Safe Sleep Hospital, Mercer Health follows the guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and provides training programs for healthcare team members and family caregivers at the highest level possible. Michael H. Goodstein, M.D., a neonatologist and medical director of research at Cribs for Kids, emphasized the importance of modeling safe infant sleep in hospitals and providing education to families in reducing preventable deaths from sleep-related deaths (SRD), which result in the loss of over 3,500 infants every year in the U.S.
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 that they have always been promoters of safe sleep and that the Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification is an important step in providing parents and caregivers with evidence-based information needed to ensure their babies sleep safely from day one.
For more information on the Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program or the Childbirth Center at Mercer Health, visit
