Thrive SPC partners with Children’s Hospital of Richmond on safe sleep initiative

Richmond, Virginia – The team at Thrive Skilled Pediatric Care’s Richmond location participated in research in partnership with Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University (CHoR) that led to the first published report of the “Baby Box LIFE” study.

“We are honored to be part of this life-saving study aimed at promoting ways to decrease sudden unexpected infant death (SUID),” said Thrive SPC Clinical Supervisor Angela Poole, BSN, RN, SNV. “We were recently asked to add 100 additional cases to the study. I am very proud of the team of nurses that worked extremely hard to get to as many families as possible to promote safe sleeping, especially Crystal Holbrook-Gazoni, who was the champion of this project,” she said.

Holbrook-Gazoni was named an “Outstanding Nurse” by OurHealth Richmond in 2018.

As part of the state of Virginia’s Safe Sleep 365 campaign, CHoR and The Baby Box Co. provide new and expecting families with safe sleep education resources (which include a Baby Box) for all caregivers through the Baby Box program. Thrive Skilled Pediatric Care’s skilled nurses go to the home seven days after hospital release to complete the safe sleep study and assess the baby.

The Longitudinal Infant and Family Environment (LIFE) study found that hospital-based SUID preventive interventions can be effective in promoting the use of firm sleep surface and removing unsafe items from the sleeping environment. The LIFE intervention produced a significant reduction in the number of unsafe items in the sleep environment at the seven-day follow-up.

“At Thrive SPC, we take an active advocacy role in all the locations where we do business. We aspire to be active participants in the entire ecosystem that surrounds medically fragile children,” said Julie DeSilva Thrive Skilled Pediatric Care’s communications manager.

“Angie (Poole), Crystal, and all the other skilled nurses who have helped with these safe sleep assessments, embody Thrive SPC’s core values of excellence, compassion, and social responsibility. Our company is proud to support this very important health initiative,” DeSilva said.

The official study report is published in SAGE journals and is entitled: Impact of a Comprehensive Hospital-Based Program to Remove Unsafe Items from Infant’s Sleeping Area.

ABOUT SAFE SLEEP 365 In a recent report by the Virginia State Child Fatality Review Team, the rate of sleep-related infant deaths increased by nearly 40% from 2013 to 2016. These deaths can be avoided by following simple, life-saving practices each time an infant is placed to sleep. The Safe Sleep 365 campaign is designed to educate all caregivers regarding the steps that can be taken to prevent sleep-related death in children under one year of age.

ABOUT THRIVE SKILLED PEDIATRIC CARE Formerly, The Pediatric Connection, Thrive SPC’s Richmond location has been providing full-service home health care focused solely on the pediatric patient population for more than two decades in Virginia. Thrive is a national company whose purpose is to provide high quality clinical home care to medically fragile children, so they can grow and flourish to their full potential.