Patient safety and privacy concerns have led many hospitals and health systems — including Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems — to do away with the tradition of publicizing their first baby of the New Year, according to a USA Today report.
CHS prohibited its 207 hospitals from publicizing the first baby of the year for 2015 as a safety precaution, according to the report.
Threats, abduction attempts and identity theft connected to the New Year baby announcements are relatively uncommon, but are still concerns considered by hospitals charged with the responsibility of protecting patients.
According to a CHS official, parents would still be notified if their baby arrived first and could contact the media on their own, given reporters and photographers steer clear of the maternity ward.
Numerous organizations have weighed in on the tradition, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which suggested healthcare providers get parental consent and eliminate identifying information from birth announcements or stop providing them to the media altogether.
The NCMEC was not the first to address New Year baby patient safety concerns — the Joint Commission suggested hospitals stop providing birth notices to local newspapers years ago following a rash of hospital abductions, according to the report.
Still, some hospitals and health systems have said they will continue on with the New Year baby tradition so long as parents give their permission.
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