HYMC provides Halo Sleepsack Wearable Blankets in birthing center to help newborns sleep safer

Ministry Health Care’s Howard Young Medical Center (HYMC) is one of the first medical centers in the area to swaddle newborn babies in HALO® SleepSack® wearable blankets. The charge behind HALO’s Safer Way to Sleep® initiative is to keep all HYMC-delivered babies safe and warm while they sleep and to model safe sleep practices for parents. In recent years, the American Academy of Pediatrics has revised its guidelines to suggest the use of wearable blankets instead of loose blankets as a way to help reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in babies less than one year old.

In 2009 HYMC started implementing the HALO Safer Way to Sleep initiative, which benefits approximately 325 babies born annually at HYMC. The hospital’s focus on wearable blankets not only comforts and stabilizes sleeping babies in the nursery, but also eliminates loose blankets in bassinets.

“We’re always looking for new ways to continue improving Howard Young’s quality of care for patients, and our partnership with HALO Innovations ensures all babies in our birthing center are sleeping safely right from the start,” said Lynn LaFrenier, Birthing Center Manager, Ministry Health Care’s Howard Young Medical Center. “Our well-baby and neonatal nurses are already educating new parents on how to properly position and set up appropriate sleep environments for newborns, so the use of HALO SleepSack wearable blankets in our hospital is another way to demonstrate safe sleep practices to parents.”

The Howard Young Foundation granted a $5,800 donation to HYMC to support the HALO Safer Way to Sleep initiative. This donation gives every baby born at HYMC the opportunity to take his or her own HALO SleepSack Swaddle home, along with a packet of information for new parents about reducing the risk of SIDS. HALO SleepSack wearable blankets are also available for purchase in the Auxiliary Howard Young Medical Center Gift Shop.

“HALO Innovations is pleased to partner with HYMC to provide a product that keeps sleeping babies safe, gives parents peace of mind and makes safe swaddling of newborns easier,” said Bill Schmid, founder of HALO Innovations. “Our mission is to significantly decrease the number of babies lost to SIDS each year, and we believe our HALO SleepSack wearable blankets along with education on safe sleep practices are helping fight this battle.”

More than 600 hospitals across the country are currently using HALO SleepSack wearable blankets in their neonatal units or nurseries, gifting them to new moms or selling the product in hospital gift shops. A percentage of all HALO SleepSack product sales go directly to support medical research, education and family services in the fight against SIDS.

For more information about HYMC’s wearable blanket program, call 715-356-8500.