Kern Medical Foundation Receives $30,000 from First 5 Kern

Donation will help support Kern Medical’s Safe Sleep Campaign

Bakersfield, Calif. – June 22, 2016 – Kern Medical will receive a $30,000 donation from First 5 Kern to help support Kern Medical’s Safe Sleep Campaign. As the only local safety-net hospital, Kern Medical has the unique opportunity to care for the most vulnerable in the community. With this generous donation, Kern Medical will be able to expand the Safe Sleep Campaign throughout all of Kern County and to further decrease the rates of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID). Kern Medical’s mission is to educate the community on safe sleeping and to ensure that all newborns in the community have a safe place to sleep.

The Safe Sleeping Campaign was created in partnership with the County of Kern and Public Health after the Child Death Review panel presented alarming results in their yearly report.  In 2014, 17 babies lost their lives due to SUID, and most die due to unsafe sleeping conditions. Since nearly all of these deaths could have been prevented with a safe sleeping environment, Kern Medical is determined to bring awareness to SUID and provide the resources needed for families.

“We are so honored to be recognized by First 5 Kern in our efforts to help educate our community about how to provide safe sleeping environments for babies,” said Erica Easton, Executive Director of the Kern Medical Foundation. “The Safe Sleep Campaign has been successful since we launched, but the generous donation from First 5 Kern will allow us to continue to support new parents and families in Kern County, and help decrease rates of SUID.”

The donation will be used by the Kern Medical Foundation to continue to provide port-a-cribs and monthly educational classes to new and expectant parents. Every new mom who delivers her baby in Kern County (whether at Kern Medical or elsewhere) that needs assistance to create a safe sleeping environment will receive a port-a-crib.

First 5 Kern will present the check to Russell Judd, CEO, and the Kern Medical Foundation on Thursday, June 23 at 8:30 a.m. in Kern Medical’s conference room 1058. The media is welcome to attend.

For more information on Kern Medical’s Safe Sleep Campaign, visit KernMedical.com/SafeBabies.

About Kern Medical

Kern Medical serves as Kern County’s only trauma center and provides all members of the community access to basic and specialty care through a network of clinics, physicians and affiliated medical groups.  It is the area’s only academic training hospital and has an affiliation with the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.  In addition to its main campus, it operates outpatient clinics on Columbus Street, Truxtun Avenue, and Stockdale Highway for nearly 160,000 patients each year.

About First 5 Kern

To date, First 5 Kern has allocated more than $160 million dollars to support child development programs throughout Kern County. Funding for these programs is obtained through Proposition 10 tobacco tax dollars, which First 5 Kern administers. Revenues are used to fund local health, childcare and education programs that promote early childhood development for children ages prenatal to five.

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Media Contact:
Carrie Weiss
carrie@amfmediagroup.com