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Cook County board highlights racial disparities in infant sleep deaths and backs awareness resolution
Summary
Commissioners heard medical testimony and survivor accounts about sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) disparities in Cook County and moved item 246454 forward to raise awareness and promote safe‑sleep interventions and resource access.
The Cook County Board on Nov. 20 moved to advance a resolution (item 246454) aimed at raising awareness of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and supporting safe‑sleep education and resources.
Shanice Williams of UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial told the board that Cook County’s sudden unexpected infant death rates are disproportionately higher for Black families and cited local data indicating a striking disparity. "Safe sleep is a variety of educational points highlighting environmental factors that reduce babies' risk for sudden infant death syndrome," Williams said, and urged the board to expand access to safe-sleep supplies at discharge.
Dr. Tanya Blanche, a neonatologist at Lurie Children's Hospital who joined virtually, said research shows the racial and geographic concentration of SUID in the county's west and south sides and called for targeted programs and continued research to reduce preventable deaths.
Commissioner Gordon introduced the item and thanked partners including Ingalls and Rush University Medical Center, and the board heard that many deaths are sleep-related and potentially preventable with education and access to safe-sleep equipment.
Next steps: the resolution will proceed through committee steps for awareness and coordination with public-health partners and community organizations on interventions and resource distribution.
