 Major Kimberly Rosenbaum with daughter, Caitlin, in the NICU Major Kimberly Rosenbaum, MSN, RNC-OB, IBCLC, is a Maternal Child Clinical Nurse Specialist, Baby-Friendly Task Force Leader, and CHAMPS Team Lead at William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC) in El Paso, Texas. WBAMC is in the 3rd phase (Dissemination) of the Baby-Friendly 4-D pathway and was designated a Mother-Friendly Worksite on January 15, 2016. Mother-Friendly Worksites are businesses that proactively support employees who choose to breastfeed their infants. Kimberly was nominated as CHAMPion of the Week for providing outstanding Baby-Friendly team leadership and for creating a beautiful postpartum patient education plan to help her staff know who is responsible for providing certain pieces of education throughout the hospital stay. Her exceptional plan template is the basis for the one that CHAMPS uses with all of its hospitals when they enter the Development (2nd) Phase of Baby-Friendly. “The postpartum education plan is a one-page document that shows all the essential elements that must be taught and assessed throughout a postpartum woman’s hospitalization,” says Kimberly. “I had reviewed many of the Baby-Friendly and CHAMPS documents to compile the necessary information. The first draft was horrible and intimidating. As I cleaned it up (and elicited some much appreciated help from Kirsten at CHAMPS), the document really came together. I added columns to show who was responsible for each element (L&D Nurse, Pediatrician, MBU Nurse, etc.) and another column for where to document these elements. We are now using this to guide our work plan and education on the unit. This helps everyone easily see what the overall plan is for each postpartum patient.” Kimberly believes “breast milk is best for every baby” and that many women desire to breastfeed and just need education and support to achieve their goals. She breastfed all 4 of her children and exclusively pumped for her daughter, Caitlin, until she passed away at 13 months. She was also able to donate 3,102 ounces of milk to Mothers’ Milk Bank Austin. Congratulations, Kimberly, you are a true CHAMPion! Check out Kimberly's postpartum education plan below! (coming soon) Note: This post has been transferred from CHAMPSbreastfeed.org. There were originally 4 comments. You can view them in this document.  Portia L. Williams, RN, BSN, IBCLC, RLC, CCHC, is a nurse and lactation consultant at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was nominated as CHAMPion of the Week for her enthusiastic support of breastfeeding and valuable contributions to presentations at two of our recent CHAMPS conferences. Portia’s motivation to promote breastfeeding is twofold—professional and personal. As a health care professional, she understands the importance of breast milk and its role in disease prevention, health and wellness. And as a mother of a premature infant, she has “seen firsthand the benefits of providing only breast milk.” She also tandem nursed her two sons, which she describes as a “wonderful and unique experience.” Portia has promoted breastfeeding in various settings. For example, after a negative experience at a child care center when the owner asked her to leave because she was breastfeeding her infant, she worked with the Greater New Orleans Breastfeeding Coalition (her affiliation at the time) to initiate, with the help of an MPH intern, the “Breastfeeding Friendly” Child Care Centers program. The first child center designated “Breastfeeding Friendly” was Garden of Eden in Laplace, LA. Portia and the intern educated the staff on how to support a breastfeeding mom and on proper milk handling and storage; a designated place for employees to pump was also provided. Currently, Portia is helping Touro Infirmary achieve Baby-Friendly status. Her career goals are to increase the number of African-American lactation consultants and to start a mentoring program for potential African-American lactation consultants in the metro New Orleans area. Note: This post has been transferred from CHAMPSbreastfeed.org. There were originally 2 comments. You can view them in this document.  Vince and Linda McGrath If you have been to one of our CHAMPS conferences, you may have had the pleasure of meeting, or being photographed by Linda and Vince McGrath. Vince and Linda are a dynamic, husband-wife duo devoting much of their professional and personal lives to the promotion of breastfeeding in the Southern United States! Linda McGrath, PhD, IBCLC, MCHES, currently serves as Coordinator of Leader Accreditation for La Leche League of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, and on the planning committee for Breastfeeding: the Gold Standard conference. In the past, she has also served on the Board of Directors for the North MS Breastfeeding Coalition and on the Task Force to establish the Mississippi State University Lactation Support Program. In 1976 she was accredited as a La Leche League Leader, and ever since then she has been holding monthly meetings in the communities in which she has lived—El Paso, TX, Monroe, LA, Athens, GA, and Starkville, MS. Vince McGrath, EdD, retired in 2010 from Mississippi State University as Professor Emeritus in the College of Education Foundation and Leadership. He has attended the Gold Standard, American Public Health Association, MS Public Health Association—and recently CHAMPS—conferences since 2004 when Vince and Linda married. He has been recognized as the official photographer for the Gold Standard conference and the unofficial photographer for the other conferences. Vince takes delightful candid and posed photographs at our CHAMPS conferences, through which, in his words, he “hope[s] to capture the excitement and joy of the many participants.” Vince says, “These photos demonstrate the involvement of many who have served families…and who are willing to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding as the infant feeding practice.” We are grateful to Linda and Vince for their commitment to breastfeeding and to CHAMPS! Note: This post has been transferred from CHAMPSbreastfeed.org. There was originally 1 comment. You can view it in this document. Below are a few samples of Vince's CHAMPS conference photos:
 Susan Spencer, MSN, RNC, IBCLC, is Director of Women’s Services and CHAMPS Team Leader at Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle (BMH-GT) in Columbus, MS. She was nominated as CHAMPion of the Week for the great work she and her team are doing at their hospital and for her wonderful presentations on skin-to-skin at 3 of our recent conferences (September 11, 2015 in Tupelo, MS and November 11 & 12 in Jackson, MS). Susan has practiced nursing in the obstetrical field for 4 decades, during which breastfeeding and skin-to-skin have been central to her career. Her master’s thesis, The Important First Hour of Life, is about skin-to-skin care, and she has helped 2 hospitals (Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, Texas and now BMH-GT) establish skin-to-skin as routine care following vaginal deliveries. At BMH-GT, this practice change involved everything from engaging staff, sharing evidence-based research and incorporating physician buy-in to working with marketing to create written materials and infomercials. When asked her advice to others seeking to create change within a hospital, Susan said, “Get the facts. Engage staff and physicians. Take the idea to the community. Customer expectations make a huge difference in attitudes toward change. Gather data and share the numbers. Showcase what you do.” BMH-GT is now on their way to becoming Baby-Friendly, what Susan describes as “a dream-come-true.” Note: This post has been transferred from CHAMPSbreastfeed.org. There were originally 9 comments. You can view them in this document. |
CHEER Champion of the weekEach Monday (besides public holidays), we will recognize a CHEER Champion for all the support they have provided for CHEER, CHAMPS, or the general public. Archives
July 2020
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