![\"Tennessee](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/TDOH-logo-blk.jpg\" "\\"Tennessee"){kind=logo}
Nashville, TN<\/strong> – The Tennessee Department of Health is partnering with the Charlie\u2019s Kids Foundation and Tennessee hospitals to provide teaching materials to help new parents and hospital staff members learn the \u201cABCs of safe sleep.\u201d<\/p>\nTDH will provide hospitals that join the project with copies of the Sleep Baby Safe and Snug board book for each baby born in their facility in 2014.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>The Tennessee Department of Health has purchased 86,000 copies of Sleep Baby Safe and Snug and will provide copies for each baby born in partner hospitals in 2014.<\/p><\/div>\n
The new project was unveiled January 10th in Nashville with the arrival of 86,000 copies of the book onboard the Charlie\u2019s Kids delivery truck.<\/p>\n
The book was authored by pediatrician John Hutton, MD for Charlie\u2019s Kids to teach caregivers to safely put a baby to sleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a concerted effort and the awareness and actions of all of us who care for infants, we don\u2019t have to lose another baby to a preventable sleep-related death,\u201d said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. \u201cThe data from our Child Fatality Review teams show 20 percent of infant deaths in Tennessee, the third leading cause with 121 such deaths in 2012, can be stopped with consistent, persistent safe sleep practices that this important book, supplied in our hospitals, will reinforce.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hospitals that partner with TDH in this project can also receive flip charts and other educational materials staff members can use to teach new parents about safe sleep for infants.<\/p>\n
TDH launched a statewide campaign in June 2012 to increase awareness of safe sleep practices in order to reduce infant mortality in Tennessee. The primary message for parents and others who care for infants is to \u201cRemember the ABCs of Safe Sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>Tennessee Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH, announces the partnership with the Charlie\u2019s Kids Foundation and Tennessee hospitals to provide teaching materials to help new parents and hospital staff members learn the \u201cABCs of safe sleep.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n
There are three critical measures to follow when it\u2019s time for an infant to sleep. \u201cA\u201d is for Alone: always let the baby sleep alone, never in a bed with another person where the baby could be smothered. \u201cB\u201d is for on the baby\u2019s Back; an infant should be placed to sleep on his or her back, not on his or her side or stomach. \u201cC\u201d is for Crib: always put your child to sleep in a crib with only a firm mattress and tight-fitting sheet.<\/p>\n
[320left]Charlie\u2019s Kids Foundation was established in 2011 after Sam and Maura Hanke lost their first son, Charlie, to sudden infant death syndrome. Sam Hanke, a pediatric cardiologist, and Maura Hanke, a kindergarten teacher, have made it their mission to teach others that a baby is safest alone on his or her back in a crib for sleeping.<\/p>\n
Charlie\u2019s Kids was founded with the purpose of increasing safe sleep awareness and education with the ultimate goal of reducing the SIDS mortality rate.<\/p>\n
“Charlie’s Kids is thrilled to be partnering with the Tennessee Department of Health and hospitals across the state in this exciting new initiative,\u201d said Sam Hanke, MD, president of the Charlie\u2019s Kids Foundation board of directors. \u201cThank you to First Lady Crissy Haslam and the state of Tennessee for drawing attention to the importance of safe sleep and SIDS. It is our hope that Sleep Baby Safe and Snug will resonate with parents and result in all babies sleeping in a safe environment. We applaud the Tennessee Department of Health, the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation and kidcentral tn for leading this initiative. With innovative and important steps like this, we honor Charlie’s memory as we continue our fight to eliminate SIDS and sleep-related deaths.”<\/p>\n
Along with TDH and Charlie\u2019s Kids, partners in this project include the Tennessee Hospital Association, the Children\u2019s Hospital Alliance of Tennessee, the Hospital Alliance of Tennessee, and the Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.<\/p>\n
A list of participating hospitals is available online at http:\/\/safesleep.tn.gov\/PDFs\/Hospital_Partner_List.pdf<\/a> .<\/p>\n Learn more about the ABCs of safe sleep at safesleep.tn.gov.<\/p>\n