Elmhurst Hospital Center Recognized for Excellence in Lactation Care
Educational program forges mother-baby bonding and successful breastfeeding initiation rates
Jan 02, 2014
Elmhurst Hospital Center (EHC) has received the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® (IBCLC®) Care Award for its implementation of skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding in the operating room for mothers experiencing a cesarean birth. In 2013, 89 percent of mothers in the hospital started breastfeeding, exceeding the Healthy People 2010 (75 percent) and 2020 (82 percent) goals set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The IBCLC Care Award recognizes hospitals for their dedication in supporting and promoting breastfeeding.
Skin-to-skin contact is when a baby is placed on a mother’s chest immediately after birth. A blanket is placed across the infant’s back and a hat is placed on the baby’s head. The baby is happier and kept warm while embracing the mother.
“I am enormously proud of this award and of Elmhurst Hospital Center’s Women and Children’s Division,” said Chris Constantino, Senior Vice President of Queens Health Network and Executive Director of EHC. “They work extremely hard to educate our patients, our staff, and the wider community about the importance of breastfeeding, so I’m glad they are receiving this recognition.”
Elmhurst Hospital is one of the first New York City public hospitals to implement skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding in the operating room and the first to receive the IBCLC Care Award. A multi-disciplinary team of the hospital’s nurses, lactation consultants, obstetricians, midwives, pediatricians, and anesthesiologists worked together to develop the hospital’s award-winning lactation program.
“At Elmhurst Hospital Center we have been educating our patients, promoting and encouraging breastfeeding as the best nutrition for infants,” said Dr. Barry Brown, Director of Obstetrics and Gynecology and an advocate for breastfeeding at EHC. “We believe that an educated community will choose breastfeeding when well-informed about its benefits.”
When a baby is placed skin-to-skin with the mother immediately following birth, it enables the mother to bond with her baby, making it easier for the baby to latch-on when breastfeeding. The patients are able to breastfeed and continue skin-to-skin contact during their recovery in the Mother-Baby Unit. Through its Lactation Clinic, EHC offers new mothers educational resources, breastfeeding techniques, support, and follow-up care.
“As Chair of the Women’s Issues Committee and a new mother, I am proud to celebrate Elmhurst Hospital Center’s recent recognition for their dedication to breastfeeding education,” City Council Member Julissa Ferreras said. “Not only is Elmhurst Hospital Center a key resource for our community, but through their excellent maternity care and programming, they have successfully readied hundreds of mothers for the care of their newborn babies. I congratulate the staff at EHC’s staff Women and Children’s Health Staff for receiving the IBCLC Care Award. It is well-deserved for their extraordinary display of teamwork.”
For more information about Elmhurst Hospital Center’s breastfeeding program, call (718) 334-5029 or (718) 334-2024.
Contact: Ian Michaels (HHC) (212) 788-3339
Shruti Kumar (Elmhurst) (718) 334-5208
About Elmhurst Hospital Center
Elmhurst Hospital Center (EHC), part of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), is the major tertiary care provider in the borough of Queens. The hospital is comprised of 545 beds and is a Level 1 Trauma Center, an Emergency Heart Care Station and a 911-Receiving Hospital. It is a premiere health care organization for key areas such as Surgery, Cardiology, Women’s Health, Pediatrics, Rehabilitation Medicine, and Renal and Mental Health Services. Last year, EHC received close to 700,000 ambulatory care visits and over 130,000 Emergency Room visits.
About HHC
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with its own 420,000 member health plan, MetroPlusHealth, and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nychhc.org/hhc or find us on facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or twitter.com/NYCHealthSystem.
About International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE)
IBLCE is an independent international certification body for certifying practitioners in lactation and breastfeeding care. In addition to finding IBCLC professionals at Elmhurst Hospital Center, mothers can locate an IBCLC near them by visiting www.ilca.org. Follow the “Find a Lactation Consultant” link and search for an IBCLC by postal code, city and state, or country.