STPH Named Safe Sleep Champion

ST. TAMMANY PARISH HOSPITAL RECOGNIZED
AS SAFE SLEEP CHAMPION

COVINGTON – St. Tammany Parish Hospital has been named a 2013 Louisiana Safe Sleep Champion Hospital for leading its staff to promote a safe sleeping environment for newborns.

“(St. Tammany Parish Hospital) has participated in one of the Louisiana office of Public Health’s broadest-reaching initiative aimed at reducing infant mortality across Louisiana, and by taking part, STPH also contributed to a national effort to address one of the leading causes of death among children under age 1,” said Amy Zapata MPH, director of the Bureau of Family Health. “Their implementation of activities based on those guidelines in less than one year serves as a model of change for all delivering hospitals.”

STPH is participating in a nationwide public-education effort by the National Institute of Health’s Safe to Sleep campaign to promote safe sleep environments for all infants.

The hospital has developed new evidence-based policies following the program’s guidelines to boost awareness among patients and caregivers of what a safe sleep environment for babies looks like. 

The hospital’s new policies, developed and introduced throughout 2013, include hospital nurses addressing the sleep environment with new mothers preparing to return home after delivery.

Classes for parents-to-be include components on safe sleep practices, while brochures given to new parents include illustrations of what a safe sleep environment should look like.

The STPH Nurse-Family Partnership also discusses safe sleep with the new mothers it serves.

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A full-service acute care facility committed to providing world-class healthcare and the latest technology, St. Tammany Parish Hospital delivers today’s life-improving procedures with the utmost care to area residents with emphasis on wellness, preventive care and disease management close to home. STPH is a self-supporting not-for-profit community hospital; it receives no tax funding. STPH.org