300 Cribs Donated During Cribs “R” for Infant and Baby Safety (CRIBS) Event
March 12, 2021 – Clinics Can Help (CCH), Florida’s only nonprofit organization that collects and donates medical equipment and supplies for children and adults in need, held its eleventh annual Cribs “R” for Infant and Baby Safety (CRIBS) event on Wednesday, March 10 at their West Palm Beach warehouse from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. During the drive-through event, hundreds of new Pack’ n Play® portable cribs will be donated to nonprofit partners to be distributed to families unable to afford safe sleeping environments for their infants.
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old. Though the exact cause is unknown, researchers have identified important ways to reduce SIDS, including placing babies dressed lightly, alone on their backs to sleep on a firm mattress approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission with no toys, blankets, or pillows.
Clinics Can Help’s CEO and founder, Owen O’Neill, is proud to continue the nonprofit’s work with local agencies to distribute the cribs and ensure safety for those most in need in our community. “Our goal is to continue to make an impact on the decreased amount of infant sleep-related deaths in our state. To date, we’ve provided over 1500 cribs to protect local babies, and this life-saving work will continue,” he said.
On hand for the distribution will be Palm Beach County Commissioner Mack Bernard, who will share the importance of the work Clinics Can Help is doing when he speaks at 11:00 a.m. Nonprofit agency partners participating are Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, Caridad Center, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, Families First, and The Lord’s Place.
Added O’Neill, “According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), on average, 3,500 babies die each year from crib-related deaths. We are proud to follow their efforts to reduce the risk of all sleep-related infant deaths, through the use of portable cribs, such as the Pack’ n Play®, which are considered useful as they can keep the baby’s sleep area in the same room where parents sleep for the first year.” The APP also noted that by placing a baby’s crib, bassinet, portable crib, or play yard in your bedroom close to your bed can decrease SIDS risk by as much as 50% and is much safer than bed-sharing. Room sharing also makes it easier to feed, comfort, and watch your baby.
Clinics Can Help will also have cribs available to a limited number of community members in need. To learn more about this event, or Clinics Can Help, please contact (561) 640-2995 or www.clinicscanhelp.org.
About Clinics Can Help
Clinics Can Help (CCH), located at 2560 Westgate Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33409, accepts gently used and new durable medical equipment from individuals and organizations and make it available to clients who may not otherwise be able to afford such equipment for their physical recovery and quality of life. It is the only organization of its kind in Florida and one of only four in the U.S. that provides this critical assistance. For more information about CCH, please visit www.clinicscanhelp.org or call 561-640-2995.
