LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) – A Lima Memorial Health System associate and her family are making it their mission to ensure area families follow safe sleep practices for their babies.
On Monday, Lacey Hefner and her family donated more than 70 sleep sacks to the Lima Memorial Family Birth Center. The donation was made in recognition of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. For Hefner and her family, the donation is deeply personal. In 2016, Lacey and her husband’s first-born daughter, Rylee, passed away from sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. The Hefner family made the donation in Rylee’s honor, hoping to help other families keep their babies safe while sleeping.
"Our hope and prayer is that by donating these, we bring awareness to safe sleep practices and we prevent another family from having that tragic loss. Just providing tools to help with the safe sleep, the education. We've done some other things as well to support those who have also suffered a loss," says Lacey Hefner who donated over 70 sleep sacks to Lima Memorial Family Birth Center.
"We're very grateful for the individual who has donated the sleep sacks so we can give this education on to our moms and caregivers," says Joan McBride, OB Clinical Nurse Manager, Lima Memorial Health System.
The Hefner family also plans to make a second sleep sack donation to Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine.
