![]() This week’s CHEER Hospital of the Week is University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, Mississippi. UMMC has approximately 2,300 births per year, a level IV NICU, and the only OB resident training program in the state. They were part of the first wave of the CHAMPS South program from 2014-2017, and they received Baby-Friendly designation 1 year ago on September 27, 2017. This year, CHAMPS is celebrating UMMC again, this time for their Mother Baby Unit’s outstanding accomplishments since Baby-Friendly designation. One of these accomplishments was the Mother Baby Unit being awarded the esteemed UMMC Nursing Team of the Year award for the entire hospital in May 2018! ![]() “The Nursing Team of the Year award honors the nursing unit most exemplifying the art and science of nursing leadership and practice in a clinic, office or hospital setting during the previous year,” explains CHAMPS Team Leader Alice Chaney Herndon, MSN, RNC-NIC, Nurse Manager III for the Mother Baby Unit and Lactation Services at UMMC. “Applications are submitted to UMMC’s Nursing Excellence Awards committee, and the winners of the highly coveted awards go to the state-level Nightingale awards the following year. The application process is a grueling one, and includes information related to community involvement, professional practice, new knowledge, innovation, and improvements, as well as structural empowerment, quality nursing leadership, and empirical quality outcomes. Our Baby-Friendly designation was no doubt a huge feather in our hat for this award! We are truly honored and humbled to have been chosen for such a prestigious award!” In the past year since Baby-Friendly designation, UMMC has also sustained excellent Baby-Friendly standards, practices and rates. They have improved breastfeeding exclusivity and initiation rates, and skin-to-skin rates after vaginal and cesarean deliveries. ![]() “I am happy to report that rooming-in remains >95% on a monthly basis!” says Alice Chaney. The Mother Baby Unit has also done a lot of work around postpartum hemorrhage education and implemented quality improvement projects to enhance maternal outcomes. They continue to work closely with their 3 prenatal clinics, and they have increasingly more mothers coming to the hospital knowing exactly what to expect in terms of Baby-Friendly practices, thanks to the prenatal education they are receiving. What strategies has UMMC’s Mother Baby Unit used to sustain Baby-Friendly practices? “We continue to meet with our Workgroup team, formerly our Baby-Friendly taskforce, on a monthly basis,” shares Alice Chaney. “At those meetings, we review our data and look for areas of needed improvement. This allows Baby-Friendly practices to remain at the forefront of everyone’s mind. The metrics help us to see if we are remaining compliant in all areas, and we are!” Congratulations, UMMC! CHAMPS is very proud of you! |
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
January 2021
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