NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich — According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), a Michigan baby dies every two to three days due to sleep-related causes, tragedies that are often preventable by following safe sleep guidelines and Newaygo County Fire Departments.
On Monday night, all eight fire departments in Newaygo County were recognized for their efforts to help protect Michigan infants by becoming certified in the state's Safe Sleep Program. This is the only county in the state where all fire departments can mark this achievement.
Through this program, the men and women of these paid-on-call fire departments have been trained to identify unsafe infant sleep environments, inform families about infant safe sleep practices, and assist with setting up safe sleep spaces such as pack and plays.
"We don't want any stuffed animal bottles. We don't want the infants to be sleeping in mom and dad's bed with other siblings, including a twin," Fremont Firefighter and Pediatric Champion Tee Vellejo told us. "The goal is for that, every infant has their own safe spot to sleep. So once we educate the parents on it and find out why, like say they're co-sleeping because they can't afford a crib, we can actually leave a pack and play for them to ensure that they have a safe spot for the infant to sleep."
HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR SAFE SLEEP:
- Parent Resources
- Resources by County
- Safe Sleep Resources for Professionals
- Infant Sleep-Related Death Numbers and Statistics
The Infant Safe Sleep Certification Program was developed through a collaboration between the MDHHS Bureau of Emergency Preparedness, EMS and Systems of Care; EMS for Children Program; and the Division of Maternal and Infant Health, Infant Safe Sleep Program, with support from the Children’s Safety Network Learning Collaborative.
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