The Sleep Baby Safely campaign has been so successful, it’s going statewide and that’s What’s Good In Tampa Bay!

Ann Kelly is joined by April Putzulu, Senior Manager for Strategic Communications at the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, to talk about the Sleep Baby Safely campaign, and how it has reduced infant sleep-related deaths by 50% in Pinellas County.

There is additional information on their web site at https://bit.ly/3XYTHhW and on the podcast.

Listen to the podcast in its entirety at https://bit.ly/3JJZt2L

On Monday, January 30, Fox 13 joined the parents gathered at JWB with their little Babies New Year, along with state and local officials raising awareness and announcing the statewide expansion of a locally born campaign to prevent needless child deaths: Sleep Baby Safely.

Dressed in the campaign’s Sleep Me This Side Up onesies, these babies represented the more than 7,000 born in Pinellas County each year. Sleep Baby Safely’s goal is to ensure all babies can celebrate their first birthdays.

As JWB’s CEO Beth Houghton was thrilled to announce to all gathered and the media, thanks to the leadership and support of the Governor and Florida Legislature, the Florida Department of Health secured funding in this year’s budget to expand this proven prevention model to eight additional counties across the state.

Watch the noon and 5 PM Fox 13 news segment covering this celebration and press event below.

In years past, a heathy baby died every month due to unsafe sleep in Pinellas County. That’s changing, thanks to a life-saving campaign called Sleep Baby Safely that has cut infant sleep-related deaths in half since it launched in 2018. The Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) and its partners created Sleep Baby Safely when data revealed that our county lost more than 100 babies from sleep-related suffocation over a 10-year period, representing six empty kindergarten classrooms.

With the recent ringing in of the New Year, it’s a chance for everyone to resolve to sleep their babies safely, and to expand this proven prevention model to other counties across the state. Thanks to the leadership and support of Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, the Florida Department of Health secured funding in this year’s budget to do just that.

On Monday, January 30, parents gathered with their little Babies New Year, joining state and local officials to raise awareness and announce the statewide expansion of locally born Sleep Baby Safely. Dressed in the campaign’s Sleep Me This Side Up onesies, these babies represented the more than 7,000 born in Pinellas County each year. The goal is to ensure all babies can celebrate their first birthdays.

“Suffocation from unsafe sleep is the #1 cause of preventable child death, not just in Pinellas County but across the state of Florida,” stated Dr. Ulyee Choe, director of the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County. His organization has been part of the campaign since the start. “It’s time to lift up Sleep Baby Safely as a promising practice so that more young lives will be saved.”

The Sleep Baby Safely campaign features consistent messaging, data-based facts and tips, and coordinated materials used by birthing hospitals, doctors’ offices, parent educators, and first responders. For example, 7,000 Welcome Baby Bags, packed with practical safe sleep items, are given to parents of newborns at Pinellas County birthing hospitals. Learn more at www.sleepbabysafely.com.

ABOUT SLEEP BABY SAFELY:
It only takes one time for a baby to sleep in an unsafe place or position to be deadly. Babies need to be protected from suffocation every time they are laid down to sleep. The Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) and a group of concerned partners launched Sleep Baby Safely, a campaign featuring data-driven facts, consistent messages, and easy-to-remember tips for parents, caregivers, and everyone caring for babies. Learn more at www.sleepbabysafely.com. Learn and share the three tips to sleep babies safely every night and every nap:

• Follow Safe Sleep ABCs: Alone, Back, Crib. Always put babies to sleep alone on their back in an empty crib, bassinet, or Pack n’ Play. Remove all items from crib, such as blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, and bumper pads. Use only a firm mattress and tight-fitting sheet. Use a one-piece sleeper or sleep sack to keep baby warm.

• Share a Room, Not a Bed. Bring crib into parent’s room for baby’s first year room sharing keeps baby close without the risks. Never put baby to sleep on soft surfaces like adult beds, couches, futons, recliners, or air mattresses.

• Stay Alert While Feeding. Set an alarm and always return baby to crib after feeding. Breastfeed if possible it’s best for baby’s protection. Do not smoke or allow others to smoke around baby and avoid misuse of alcohol or drugs.

See the article as originally published at https://www.tampabaynewswire.com/2023/01/31/ring-in-the-new-year-resolve-to-sleep-babies-safely-florida-department-of-health-and-juvenile-welfare-board-announce-expansion-of-a-locally-born-life-saving-campaign-115915

According to the Department of Health, on average, a healthy baby in Pinellas County suffocated and died from sleeping unsafely every month until 2018; a local campaign has since reduced those deaths by 50%.

In 2018, the Pinellas Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) launched Sleep Baby Safely, a data-driven campaign that offers consistent messaging, coordinated materials and educational training. The goal was to prevent and eliminate the leading cause of death in children under six, and its success has led to a statewide model.

Beth Houghton, CEO of JWB, told attendees at a press conference in Clearwater Monday that contrary to popular belief, the deaths were not the result of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Research showed that the county’s medical examiner had not listed SIDS as a cause of death in over 20 years.

Houghton said that in the decade before the Sleep Baby Safely initiative, the county lost over 100 babies to asphyxiation. She added that 66% of those occurred in an adult bed while parents co-slept with their children.

“That’s six empty kindergarten classrooms,” said Houghton.

However, she relayed that the local JWB affiliate and its community partners used that harrowing data to create a lasting change.

Today, over 50 partner agencies work collaboratively on the Sleep Baby Safely campaign. They provide education and distribute materials through several related touchpoints – birthing hospitals, obstetric and pediatric offices, social service providers, childcare centers and first responders.

Houghton said the county’s four birthing hospitals play a critical role in the program’s efficacy. Nurses from Bayfront Baby Place, Mease Countryside, Morton Plant and St. Petersburg General Hospitals provide 7,000 parents with face-to-face sleep education annually.

“A powerful voice in teaching parents how to do what they ought to do from the very beginning,” said Houghton. “Plus, parents receive a free Welcome Baby Bag.”

Those include practical items to promote safe sleeping, like a “SLEEP ME THIS SIDE UP” onesie and an “ALONE-BACK-CRIB” sleep sack. The initiative reduced infant sleep-related deaths by half, and other areas of the state began taking notice.

According to an accompanying informational sheet, the problem was even worse in Duval County, where an average of two babies died monthly. After realizing the Pinellas program’s success, Duval officials implemented a pilot campaign in 2020.

Infant suffocation deaths plummeted by 75% during that initiative’s first year.

The Pinellas County model is now a statewide best practice, and the Florida Legislature earmarked $2.35 million for Sleep Baby Safely replication and expansion in this year’s budget. Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida Surgeon General, made the formal announcement at the press conference.

The funding is available to eight counties with infant sleep-related death rates above the state average. In addition to Pinellas and Duval, those include Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach and Polk Counties.

Ladapo said reducing infant deaths is a bipartisan issue, “so you get a lot of support for doing great things with babies.”

Lealman Fire Chief Jim Millican, a JWB board member, expressed his pride in the program. He said the deaths “are 100% preventable” and compared the newfound model to car seat usage.

“Car seats weren’t always the norm,” said Millican. “Today, we wouldn’t even think about traveling without a car seat in our car for our kids. So, we know more than we used to know and can apply the same logic to co-sleeping and other unsafe sleep practices.”

JWB and Pinellas Department of Health officials state that suffocation due to unsafe sleep is still the leading cause of childhood death in the county, state and nation. Here are their safe sleep tips:

• Follow safe sleep ABCs – Alone, Back and Crib: Babies should sleep alone on their back in an empty crib, bassinet or Pack n’ Play. Remove all items from the area and only use a firm mattress and tight-fitting sheet. Use a one-piece sleeper or sleep sack to keep the baby warm instead of loose blankets.
• Share a room, not a bed: Bring the crib into the parents’ room during the baby’s first year, as room sharing keeps the baby close without the risks. Never put a baby to sleep on soft surfaces.
• Stay alert while feeding the Baby: Parents should set an alarm and always return their baby to its crib after feeding. Breastfeed if possible, do not smoke around the baby and avoid alcohol or drugs.

For more information on Sleep Baby Safely, visit the website here.

Read the article as originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/local-program-saves-infant-lives-expands-throughout-florida/

Five years ago, members of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County set out to reduce the largest cause of preventable baby deaths in Florida: suffocation due to unsafe sleep.

Using data from the medical examiner’s office, the board found that more than 100 babies died from sleep-related suffocation over a decade in Pinellas — enough children to fill six kindergarten classrooms.

“These were all healthy babies and death was otherwise preventable,” said April Putzulu, a senior manager with the board. “If we could get our arms around this one cause of death, we could keep children healthy and alive.”

That was the thinking behind the board’s 2018 launch of the Sleep Baby Safely campaign, which works to educate parents on safe sleeping practices for their babies.

Since its inception, Putzulu said that the number of sleep-related suffocation deaths in the county has been cut in half.

With newly secured funding from the state, the program is now set to expand to eight other counties around Florida, including Hillsborough County. It’s the first time state money has been designated in the health department’s budget to prevent child deaths. Broward, Duval, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, and Polk are the other areas where it’s expanding.

Deaths that were the result of unsafe sleep affected families across a wide range of income, races and ethnicities, Putzulu said.

The Sleep Baby Safely campaign provides frequent reminders about safe sleeping practices, beginning at the hospital and continuing through parent outreach programs.

The program is data driven and materials are made available to parents in both English and Spanish, Putzulu said.

“We know more today than we used to,” said Putzulu. “When you know a cause of death, you can do things to prevent it. We’re grateful this work is expanding.”

Three tips for keeping your baby safe while sleeping:

1) Follow the Safe Sleep ABCs – which stand for Alone, Back, Crib – by putting your baby to sleep alone, on their back and in an empty crib, bassinet or Pack n’ Play.

2) Share a room, not a bed. Soft surfaces like adult beds, couches and air mattresses pose greater suffocation risk. Two-thirds of infant suffocation deaths occur when parents share a bed with their baby.

3) Stay alert when feeding your baby by setting alarms and making sure the baby is returned to the crib.

For more information, visit https://www.sleepbabysafely.com/

View the article as originally published, with additional images, at https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2023/01/31/florida-babies-sleeping-safely-sudden-infant-death-suffocation

On Monday, January 30, parents gathered at JWB with their little Babies New Year, joining state and local officials to raise awareness and announce the statewide expansion of locally born Sleep Baby Safely.

Dressed in the campaign’s Sleep Me This Side Up onesies, these babies represented the more than 7,000 born in Pinellas County each year. The goal is to ensure all babies can celebrate their first birthdays.

Thanks to the leadership and support of the Governor and Florida Legislature, the Florida Department of Health secured funding in this year’s budget to expand this proven prevention model to other counties across the state.

Watch the news segment covering this celebration and press event at https://www.wtsp.com/video/news/health/babies-should-sleep-flat-on-their-backs-in-a-crib-or-bassinet-local-group-advocates/67-56efc741-6217-426a-a7a7-aef6c0cfb8f8

Kirk Ray Smith, former president and CEO of Clearwater-based Hope Villages of America (HVA), resigned earlier this week. His departure follows an emergency board meeting to discuss allegations that he “ranted” at a volunteer committee after they raised $70,000 for an HVA women’s shelter. Melinda Perry, the nonprofit’s chief operating officer, will serve as interim president. The Juvenile Welfare Board stopped funding an HVA family homeless shelter in December 2020 due to management and financial concerns.

Read the article as originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/zaps/embattled-nonprofit-ceo-resigns/

The CEO and president of Hope Villages of America resigned this week, ending an often tumultuous seven-year tenure at the Clearwater nonprofit.

Kirk Ray Smith’s resignation came after board members held an emergency meeting Nov. 28. They met to discuss why all six members of a volunteer committee had resigned after raising $72,000 for The Haven, a women’s shelter run by Hope Villages. Committee members told the Tampa Bay Times in November that Smith “ranted” at them for 20 minutes during a video call, telling them that he should be respected and that he should be treated like the “president of a billion dollar company, or the sheriff.”

A statement released late Thursday from the nonprofit’s governing board said Smith had resigned to pursue other opportunities.

“On behalf of the board of directors, we thank Kirk for his service and wish him the very best in his future endeavors,” the statement read.

Smith could not be reached for comment late Thursday.

Melinda Perry, the group’s chief operating officer, will serve as its interim leader. A former executive at the St. Petersburg Housing Authority, she joined Hope Villages in 2017.

“HVA remains fully committed to those facing hunger, serving homeless families, supporting those in need of affordable housing, and addressing abuse,” the statement said. “We are excited to work with Melinda in a new capacity.”

After the resignation of the fundraising committee, the board appeared ready to continue to back Smith. A statement posted on the group’s website and attributed to the board stated, “We stand behind our CEO and executive management team.”

It included a statement from Smith that the comments made by the volunteers were not accurate and they had gone to the media to “tarnish his character.”

Smith was hired by the nonprofit, then known as Religious Community Services of Pinellas, in 2016. In addition to the women’s shelter, it also runs a food bank. It reported raising $11.1 million in contributions and grants in 2018, according to the most recent tax return available. Smith’s salary that year was roughly $117,000.

Under his leadership, the nonprofit was forced to close the county’s largest homeless shelter for families this year after it lost $400,000 in annual funding from the Juvenile Welfare Board, which awards property tax revenues to social service programs. The group voted unanimously in December 2020 to end the contract over concerns about finance and management, including high staff turnover, a lack of sound financial practices and two deaths of occupants from suspected overdoses.

This year, Smith and the group agreed to a confidential settlement after three former female employees claimed in a 2019 lawsuit that he frequently made sexually inappropriate comments. The lawsuit claimed that Smith told female employees they should wear lipstick and appeal to his ego by telling him how nice he looks.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinellas/2022/12/08/hope-villages-of-america-ceo-resigns-controversial-tenure-clearwater-nonprofit/

Welcome to the Catalyst’s Community Voices platform. We’ve curated community leaders and thinkers from all parts of our great city to speak on issues that affect us all. Visit our Community Voices page for more details.

As we enter the holiday season, it’s easy to envision a table surrounded by family and an abundance of food. Yet, for thousands of Pinellas County youth, this is simply out of reach. According to the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB), nearly 32,000 youth in Pinellas County experience food insecurity. This means, one in five children may battle hunger this season.

This Thanksgiving, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast has partnered with United Way Suncoast and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to share 200 turkeys with Club families. Additionally, each turkey will come with healthy sides for the entire family, ensuring our kids can have the holiday they deserve. But what happens after the holidays?  How do we ensure this service, that is so vital to our community is available year-round? How do we rally against childhood hunger here in our own community? 

With inflation, and hourly wages failing to meet the financial needs of many of the families that we serve, purchasing groceries for a home with growing children is becoming increasingly more difficult. For many of the youth who attend our programs, the meals and snacks provided at our Club locations are the most secure and nutritionally balanced foods they receive each day.

There are many feeding programs across the Tampa Bay region, and many are doing great work. However, very few programs focus specifically on the critical nutritional needs of youth. This year, in partnership with JWB, Pinellas County Schools, and key strategic partners, we have served over 200,000 hot, nutritious meals and snacks to children at no cost. Yet, we know there are still youth we need to reach. This is a hurdle that we are diligently working to overcome as we strive to serve additional kids in 2023 and continue to expand our feeding program, leaving no kid hungry.

Young people need food to grow and thrive. When kids are hungry, multiple aspects of their lives suffer. Community collaboration is vital in ensuring families get the food they need. Many of our partners have been a key factor in supporting our feeding program expansion over the years, giving us much to be thankful for, not only this holiday, but every day of the year.

This holiday season, as you reflect on the things you are thankful for, remember the impact that just one secure meal a day can make in the life of a growing child. To learn more about how to support the food security of a young person in your community, please visit BGCSun.org.

Freddy Williams is President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast.

Read the article originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/community-voices-collaboration-can-knock-out-hunger/

Stacy Myers thought the video call with the CEO and president of Hope Villages of America was to thank her and other volunteers.

They had successfully organized a charity luncheon and raised $72,000 for The Haven, a women’s shelter run by Hope Villages of America.

But instead of praise, the Clearwater nonprofit’s chief executive officerjoined the Zoom call on Oct. 19 andwent on what some attendees described as a “20-minute rant.”

Kirk RaySmith said he should be treated like the “president of a billion dollar company or the sheriff,” Myers said, and he repeatedly demanded the committee respect him. Those on the call were baffled and asked him why he was upset. But he ignored them, said Myers, who spoke about the incident with the Tampa Bay Times on Friday.

The call prompted all six members of the volunteer committee to resign. The Clearwater nonprofit’s board of directors planned an emergency meeting for Monday night to discuss what happened.

“I’ve never been spoken to like that,” Myers said. “Ever. I was in shock.”

In a statement sent Monday from Hope Villages’ public relations firm,Smith accused committee members of verbally assaulting the nonprofit’s employees and body shaming a woman staffer. He also said the nonprofit has increased its volunteer pool, which has left long-time helpers feeling “unneeded and left grasping for power.”

“We were experiencing long-time volunteers pushing boundaries that were out of line,” he said in the statement. “There was frustration that we had to hold this group of volunteers responsible since their behavior was unfit.”

The issues Smith raised in his statement were not mentioned during the hour-long video call in October with the committee, according to Myers and Devin Pappas, who has served as chair of the Haven advisory committee for the past four years.

Myers said she received an apology from Seema Ramroop, chair of Hope Villages’ governing board. Ramroop confirmed that the board planned to meet but declined to comment otherwise.

The nonprofit group’s operations include a food bank and a center for women at risk of domestic abuse. It reported raising $11.1 million in contributions and grants in 2018, the most recent tax return available. Smith’s salary that year was roughly $117,000.

This isn’t the first controversial incident regarding Smith’s leadership and management style since he was hired by the nonprofit in late 2016.

In 2019, three former employees sued him and the nonprofit, which was then called Religious Community Services, alleging he made inappropriate comments, verbally abused female staffers and retaliated against them when they complained.

The two sides agreed to a confidential settlement this year, court records show.

In December 2020, the nonprofit lost $400,000 in annual funding for Grace House, the county’s largest homeless shelter for families, when the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County voted to terminate its contract over concerns about finance and management.

The Welfare Board awards property tax revenues to local social service programs. It had previously put Hope Villages on a corrective action plan after a review found the nonprofit did not have background screenings filed for all staff and volunteers, according to a 2020 memo. The review also found high staff turnover, a lack of sound financial practices and two deaths of occupants from suspected overdoses.

Without that money, Grace House closed in July with the nonprofit announcing plans to convert the shelter into affordable housing.

Pappas said she was berated and belittled by Smith on a separate phone call Oct. 12. She believes Smith was angered by comments made at an Oct. 11 committee meeting to review how the charity event went. Some volunteers were unhappy that Hope Villages employees did not help them clean up and that an award normally given to volunteers went to Smith. He was not at that meeting but two of his employees attended.

Under Pappas’ leadership, the committee has raised $240,000 for the shelter over the past four years, she said. Pappas doesn’t plan to volunteer for the group again while Smith is still in charge.

“It was horrible; it was intimidating,” Pappas said of her phone call with Smith.

Read the article at https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinellas/2022/11/21/clearwater-nonprofit-volunteers-quit-ceo-zoom/