This week’s CHAMPions are the three Navajo area Indian Health Service (IHS) federally operated hospitals, Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility (CCHCF), Northern Navajo Medical Center (NNMC) Shiprock, and Gallup Indian Medical Center (GIMC). All three have been successfully re-designated as Baby-Friendly hospitals.
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The Baby-Friendly re-designation process requires data collection, monitoring of practices, and quality improvement activities that are vital to ensuring the Baby-Friendly standards are maintained. These facilities have successfully demonstrated an ongoing commitment to delivering the best standard of maternity care. CHAMPS team members were proud to be involved with the sites’ original designation in 2012. (1,2)
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Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility, Chinle AZ
CCHCF is a 60 bed hospital which serves as the healthcare hub for the Northeast Arizona region. Chinle’s maternity department oversees an average of 550 births per year and the facility became the 9th IHS hospital to be designated Baby-Friendly in May 2014. They have since continued to provide exceptional maternity services to their patients and were able to achieve re-designation in 2019 through 2024.

Gallup Indian Medical Center, Gallup NM
GIMC is a 99-bed hospital, located on the border of the Navajo reservation in Gallup, New Mexico. The hospital has one of the largest patient loads in the Indian Health Service, with 250,000 outpatient and 5,800 inpatient admissions per year. Their maternity staff attend about 650 births per year. GIMC was first designated Baby-Friendly in November 2014 and have since become re-designated in 2019 through 2024. 

Northern Navajo Medical Center, Shiprock NM
Located at the meeting point of New Mexico with Arizona, Colorado, and Utah, NMMC caters to approximately 80,837 Native Americans. The medical center has an impatient load of 29 per day and the outpatient volume averages 600 per day. NNMC’s maternity team facilitates up to 700 births per year. The women’s health department first received designation in October 2014 and have since become re-designated in 2019 through 2024.


Congratulations to Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility, Northern Navajo Medical Center Shiprock, and Gallup Indian Medical Center! Thank you for your diligence and commitment to ensuring quality maternity care for your patients. 

​References:

1. Karol S, Tah T, Kenon C, et al. Bringing Baby-Friendly to the Indian Health Service: A Systemwide Approach to Implementation. J Hum Lact. 2016;32(2):369-372.
2. Merewood A. Baby-Friendly and the Indian Health Service: a new standard of care. J Hum Lact. 2015;31(2):207-208.

Our CHEER Champion of the week is Dr. Michelle Owens, MD, MS, Professor, Division Chief and Fellowship Director, Maternal Fetal Medicine, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. In these roles, she provides hospital and clinic care for pregnant women and their babies and is responsible for the education of trainees and physicians. She was nominated not only for being a relentless maternal health and breastfeeding champion, but also for her presentation on the CHAMPS COVID Response Webinar- Changes and Challenges to Newborn Care: COVID and Beyond.

“I love seeing mothers and their families thrive. I love helping people feel valued and experience their best selves, especially in health.” – Dr. Michelle Owens
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Dr. Owens became a breastfeeding advocate when she witnessed the natural beauty, social acceptance, community and family bonding around breastfeeding during her foreign medical mission. She has since become a proud exclusive-breastfeeding mom for her three children, donated breast milk to mothers in need, and worked within her hospital to advance BFHI. She also lobbied for appropriate accommodations for breastfeeding mothers in corporate and community areas, encouraged mothers who were afraid or unsure about their ability to breastfeed, and participated in educational projects aimed at increasing awareness for healthcare team members, the general public, and students in the health professions. 

In spite of the ongoing pandemic, Dr. Owens and her team have continued to work tirelessly to care for all moms and “protect the sanctity of the maternal-infant dyad”. She expounded on the idea of stigma as an unintended consequence of COVID-19, and how it amplifies the isolation that people feel. “It is as if those who have not tested positive, judge those who have been exposed” she said. “There is so much uncertainty with this virus that people tiptoe around, fearful of those who have tested positive, not knowing what to say or do.”  She explained that this affects care because patients often sense the fear and decide not to disclose their diagnosis,- even when it involves their direct treatment and care. Dr. Owens charges everyone, especially those in patient care, to acknowledge the uncertainty, address their fears, and abolish this stigma whenever possible.

When asked about her motivation, Dr. Owens described herself as a champion for justice who is motivated by love; love of people and a strong desire to contribute to something greater than just herself. She enjoys helping women through some of the most exciting and difficult times of their lives and considers her role an honor and a privilege.

In addition to her work in patient care and medical education, Dr. Owens does research in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and hosts a weekly radio show “Southern Remedy for Women” on Mississippi Public Broadcasting; a talk show focused on women’s health issues.

​Congratulations Dr. Michelle Owens, thank you for being such a tireless advocate for maternal child health and breastfeeding!

​Our CHEER Champion of the Week is Angela Ferguson-Parker, Certified Lactation Counselor for Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center (SMRMC). Angela has worked on the Labor Delivery and Postpartum (LDRP) unit for 12 years. In her role as CLC, she provides clinical breastfeeding counseling management and support to families who are thinking about breastfeeding, or who need information and support during the course of lactation. She was nominated for being an incredible and unparalleled breastfeeding advocate in her hospital and community.
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Angela has been instrumental to the Baby-Friendly Initiative at her hospital. Being the lactation team lead, she provides Baby-Friendly and breastfeeding staff education, daily patient follow up, prenatal and postpartum breastfeeding education, breastfeeding support and assistance before and after discharge, and collects monthly data for her unit and CHAMPS. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she continues to encourage families to support breastfeeding and further inspires mothers to strive for their breastfeeding goals and enjoy the process.

“I am motivated by new families bonding and breastfeeding for the first time, and by the enthusiasm displayed by my nurse manager and Labor and Delivery nurses when they have encouraged a mom to initialize or keep breastfeeding.  I am motivated when a mom says “Thank you, we could not have done this without you…”- Angela Ferguson-Parker

m Angela’s journey as a breastfeeding advocate began after the birth of her first born in 1996. Being provided with all the education and essential support prior to delivery and afterwards by hospital staff, WIC, and Le Leche League, ensured her success and ignited her passion for breastfeeding. “When I became a Peer Counselor in Washington County in 1997, under the guidance of 2 amazing trailblazers- Kendall Cox and Cathy Carothers- I began expressing my passion for breastfeeding to others. I am forever inspired by these two amazing individuals and I know “Loving Support Makes Breastfeeding Work”. 

She expressed a great sense of pride in her SMRMC’s Baby-Friendly journey and how they have been maintaining designation. Angela is especially happy about the hospital’s recently announced 2018 MPinc score; SMRMC  had a score of 83, a tremendous increase from the total score of 45 in 2015. When they initially started the Baby Friendly journey, the hospital had no affiliated clinics, now SMRMC are affiliated with both OB/Gyn clinics in the area.  Angela shared how she works closely with both clinics to assure they have suitable educational material and adequate training, so they can provide their prenatal patients with the necessary information to support them in making well informed choices.
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Congratulations Angela, thank you for your leadership and enthusiasm around BFHI and for being such an unrelenting breastfeeding advocate.

This week’s CHEER Champion of the Week is Shannon Richardson, RN CLC, Obstetrics Nurse Manager and BFHI lead at Wayne General Hospital. Shannon manages the obstetrics department and is responsible for the data collection, monthly audits, staff education, policy development, and all things related to the progression of Baby-Friendly. She was nominated for her positivity and leadership in keeping her team on track with Baby-Friendly work, despite the hospital being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shannon is passionate about BFHI because she has seen firsthand the difference that it makes in women’s birthing experiences. As a mother of two daughters, aged 19 and 14, Shannon shares that her hospital experiences were very different from what she witnesses today. She states that she was unable to breastfeed her first daughter due to a lack of skin-to-skin care, breastfeeding education, or support. By the time she delivered her second child, she had finished nursing school and was determined to do so. “As a nurse delivering my second child, I knew I wanted to breastfeed, but I did not know a lot about it.  It was still difficult because I did not have anyone to talk to other than family that had breastfed. I see the experiences that women get now and I wish I would have gotten the same.” 

When describing her experience as BFHI lead, Shannon described that she found the charge a bit overwhelming when she first took over in 2019. She naturally had concerns about being able to keep up and to ensure the success of her team. However, she reports that with continued guidance from CHAMPS’ Becky Knapp, she has become more comfortable and at ease about helping to accomplish the goal of BFHI for her hospital.

“I don’t want any mother that deliver with us to ever say they didn’t have the opportunity or resources to effectively breastfeed. I want all of our mothers to accomplish their breastfeeding goals” – Shannon Richardson

Shannon really enjoys seeing the mother and families’ reaction when they see and hold their newborn for the first time. “Even now as manager I want to be present for the deliveries. Not only to help out if needed, but also because seeing the looks on their faces gives me a feeling of accomplishment and makes the difficulties faced in the development of the process worthwhile,” she shared. Though, COVID has necessitated that she focuses on staying updated with the constantly changing recommendations, writing policy, and educating staff on the evolving policies, Shannon still works hard to prioritize her BFHI work.

​Outside of work, Shannon stays busy with her two daughters, whom she is very proud of. The older one is starting her sophomore year of college on a volleyball scholarship, while the other will be starting her freshman year at high school as a Varsity volleyball team player.

Congratulations Shannon, thank you for always being so positive in your role even during a pandemic!