NEST (Newborn Evidence-based Sleep Teaching) Safe Sleep is CPCQC’s statewide hospital quality improvement initiative to reduce sleep-related infant deaths. The annual, cohort-based program helps hospitals ensure that every baby leaves with safe sleep practices modeled, taught, and supported.

Our Vision

NEST Safe Sleep will help cohort hospitals establish reliable, sustainable safe sleep practices that strengthen family confidence, fulfill SB24-175 requirements, and contribute to reducing infant mortality across Colorado.

Open enrollment is from October to December 2025. Visit qi.cpcqc.org to complete an interest form. 

Sleep-related deaths remain one of the leading causes of infant mortality in Colorado.

• 77% of sleep-related infant deaths occur before 5 months of age
  
• 83% of sudden unexpected infant deaths occurred in the home

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has clear, evidence-based guidelines that can prevent most of these deaths: always place babies on their backs to sleep, use a firm and flat sleep surface, keep soft objects and loose bedding out of the crib, and room-share without bed-sharing. When consistently modeled and reinforced, these practices save lives. 

Despite this, Colorado continues to see gaps in outcomes. Families in frontier and underserved communities experience disproportionately higher rates of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), in some cases two to three times the national average. While rates improved after the national Back to Sleep campaign, progress has plateaued, and misinformation is rising. NEST Safe Sleep aims to end preventable deaths by embedding evidence-based safe sleep practices in hospital care and family education.