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COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) – The Safe Sleep Community Council presented a Safe Sleep Symposium Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bill & Olih St
Registered attendees received a boxed lunch during the event
Dr. Michelle A. DiMarco, associate medical examiner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, presented “Infant Deaths and CFR in the State of Georgia: A Medical Examiner’s Perspective.”
The presentation shared statistics on infant fatalities in Georgia, with emphasis on unsafe sleep environments. Participants were educated from the medical examiner’s perspective on the categorization of sleep-related infant deaths. The presentation discussed ways for healthcare professionals and caregivers to become active participants in identifying and preventing these deaths, and highlighted the role of local and state Child Fatality Review panels.
Dr. Sam Hanke, pediatric cardiologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and president of Charlie’s Kids Foundation, delivered the keynote address, “Building Better Safe Sleep Plans with Families.”
Hanke’s session explored ways to connect with families and create lasting safe sleep habits, drawing on personal experience and reand techniques designed to spark behavior change across generations and help caregivers build real-world safe sleep plans
Dr. Jodi Mindell, professor of psychology and pediatrics and director of graduate psychology at Saint Joseph’s University, and associate director of the Sleep Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, presented “To Sleep, Per Chance to Dream: Supporting Newborn Sleep Health and Safe Sleep from the Start.”
Mindell discussed sleep challenges parents commonly face during the first weeks and months of a newborn’s life, including how sleep deprivation and unrealistic expectations about infant sleep can contribute to unsafe sleep practices. She presented evidence-based strategies professionals can share with families to support healthy sleep while reinforcing safe sleep recommendations
Terri Miller, MPH, program manager for Safe Infant Sleep at the Georgia Department of Public Health, led the closing session
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