October is Safe Sleep Awareness Month, and the Wood County Health Department is running a safe sleep campaign across the county for the whole month. The effort follows recent Child Death Reviews in the county that found concerning cases of infant deaths tied to unsafe sleep settings.
Health officials have formed a Safe Sleep Action Group to lead the work. Sara Luchini, a public health nurse who leads facilitation of the county Child Death Review Team, said reviewing those losses shows why every caregiver needs the knowledge and resources to set up a safe place for a baby to sleep.
Traveling banners and posters are on display during October at libraries and health systems around Wood County. They teach an expanded set of safe sleep basics: a baby sleeps alone in a separate space, always on the back, in a safety-approved crib, bassinet or pack-and-play with a firm, flat mattress and a fitted sheet, with no blankets, pillows or other items in the space, in a home free of smoke, alcohol and drugs, for every sleep.
Pat Chang, a public health nurse who works in family health and injury prevention, said the aim is for every parent, grandparent and caregiver in the county to know those steps and to know the Health Department can help.
Through the Cribs for Kids program, the department teaches safe sleep to parents and caregivers, and qualified families can receive a free pack-and-play along with one-on-one support from public health nurses or community health workers. Home visiting is also offered to people who are expecting, have a baby or have a young child, covering topics from pregnancy and breastfeeding to car seats and child development. Families can call the Health Department at 715-421-8911.
Residents can also sign up through the department's social media for a free Safe Sleep Ambassador training online. Anyone who registers and finishes the training during October is entered in a drawing for a free pack-and-play bundle and safe sleep materials, with the winner to be notified in early November.
