Overview
A new community-wide collaborative formed in February 2013 to focus on support, advocacy and clinical consistency for breastfeeding in the Springfield region.
The Greater Ozarks Regional Breastfeeding Coalition includes physicians, nurses and lactation experts from CoxHealth, Jordan Valley Community Health Center, Mercy Springfield and the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, including the department’s Women, Infants & Children (WIC) program.
“For the first time, all of the breastfeeding supporters in this community have joined together to provide a consistent message to the community,” says Cheryl Blevins, Public Health Nurse with the health department and chair of the new coalition.
The seeds of the Coalition’s formation go back to the Community Breastfeeding Conference held in August 2012. At that time, providers and lactation experts recognized a need for more communication and strategic collaboration among local healthcare entities in order to more effectively promote the practice and benefits of breastfeeding.
All of the entities involved in the new coalition have been supporters of breastfeeding efforts for decades, but this is the first time they have come together to form a consistent strategy. The coalition is forming at a time when breastfeeding support is becoming increasingly evidence-based and as healthcare providers are seeking new ways to promote it. It’s always been known that this natural practice is healthy and nutritious, but more and more science is now shedding further light on the incredible life-long benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child.
The Coalition has adopted the slogan, “Breastfeeding: A Gift that Lasts a Lifetime.” This reflects not only the gift of milk given from mothers to their infants, but it also reflects the Coalition’s first major project – a human milk depot site. Springfield became the first Mother’s Milk Depot affiliated with the Heart of America Mother’s Milk Bank at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, one of just 13 such milk banks in the nation. The depot affiliation means local women, approved as donors by the Kansas City milk bank, will be able to donate their breast milk at the local depot, operated by the health department. The donated milk will be shipped to the Kansas City milk bank for pasteurization and distribution back to local hospitals. Donated human milk is provided by both local hospitals in the NICUs to premature infants whose mothers are unable to provide their own milk.
The Coalition will also sponsor breastfeeding educational programs for healthcare workers and offer workplace support for breastfeeding mothers through consultation and education for employers and co-workers.
Purpose, Mission, & Goals
Purpose: The purpose of this organization is to improve the health of our community by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding as the normative method of infant nutrition. This is undertaken solely as a public health initiative to achieve optimal health, enhance child development, and foster effective parenting.
Mission: The mission of the Coalition is to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding through education, outreach, and advocacy.
Goals: The goals of the Coalition are to:
Promote and support breastfeeding through education and outreach for healthcare professionals, and for families and community members
Establish, maintain, and support a community-based milk depot
Provide workplace support for breastfeeding women
Advocate for breastfeeding mothers and babies at the local, state, and federal government levels.
Our Partners
The Greater Ozarks Regional Breastfeeding Coalition is a community collaborative comprised of lactation professionals, healthcare professionals vested in breastfeeding support, interested members of our community, and breastfeeding mothers. Our mission is to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding through education, outreach, and advocacy. Our goals are to:
Promote and support breastfeeding through education and outreach for healthcare professionals, and for families and community members
Establish, maintain, and support a community-based milk depot
Provide workplace support for breastfeeding women
Advocate for breastfeeding mothers and babies at the local, state, and federal government levels
We could not accomplish these goals without the support of our partnering agencies:
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department
In operation since 1873, the Health Department impacts each Springfield and Greene County resident every single day, through safe food, immunizations, disease control and prevention and other programs that protect public health.
Every day they work to:
• slow and stop the spread of disease through immunizations, clinic testing and treatment, education, surveillance and disease investigation
• restrict the ability of viruses, germs and bacteria to spread by reducing vectors, immunizing residents and teaching healthy behaviors
• work to fill the gaps in medical care among the most vulnerable in our community
• offer information, resources and services that empower members of our community to live longer, happier, healthier lives
The Health Department co-sponsors the Greater Ozarks Regional Mother’s Milk Depot along with the Coalition, providing physical plant and staff (WIC, laboratory, nurses, administrators, and clerical) support for the milk depot and involvement of nursing and WIC staff in the coalition Board of Directors.
From humble beginnings in a frame house in 1906 to an industry-leading healthcare system, CoxHealth is a five-hospital organization with more than 80 physician clinics in the region currently employing over 9000. Nearly 4000 babies are welcomed into the world each year in a CoxHealth facility.
CoxHealth's mission is to improve the health of the communities we serve through quality health care, education and research. Our vision is to be the best for those who need us. We value safety, compassion, respect and integrity.
CoxHealth supports the work of the Greater Ozarks Regional Breastfeeding Coalition through the work of their dedicated lactation staff, the Women’s Center staff and services, physician and administrative support, and use of facility meeting rooms: CoxHealth is also represented in the coalition Board of Directors.
Mercy is the sixth largest Catholic health care system in the U.S. and serves more than 3 million people annually. We are a highly integrated organization that includes 32 hospitals, 300 outpatient locations, 39,000 co-workers and 1,700 integrated physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
As the Sisters of Mercy before us, we bring to life the healing ministry of Jesus through our compassionate care and exceptional service.
This Mercy mission statement is an inspiring reminder of our calling. It also unites and directs activities across our entire health and human services ministry.
Mercy’s Vision is to work together as the People of Mercy to pioneer a new model of care. We will relentlessly pursue our goal to get health care right. Everywhere and every way that Mercy serves, we will deliver a transformative health experience.
Each year Mercy helps the Springfield community welcome over 2500 babies into the world. Mercy supports the Greater Ozarks Regional Breastfeeding Coalition through enthusiastic administration and community education departments, the Family Resource staff and facilities, and involvement of their physicians and their inpatient and outpatient Lactation professionals. Several Mercy co-workers serve on the coalition Board of Directors.
Jordan Valley is a federally-qualified community health center providing primary care, including obstetrics and pediatrics, to the Springfield community residents. As a center governed by community residents, Jordan Valley is able to design programs to meet the needs of the community and is proud of their ability to serve the entire family: moms, dads, kids, and grandparents. Jordan Valley supports the Greater Ozarks Regional Breastfeeding Coalition through involvement of physicians and dentists on the Board of Directors.
The Doula Foundation, a non-profit organization, works to decrease child abuse and neglect by providing support services to at-risk pregnant women. Their services focus on holistic mother and baby care: education and emotional support before baby’s birth; comfort, encouragement, and respect during birthing; and continuing support for bonding and family integration. “The Doula Foundation is a proud supporter of the Greater Ozarks Regional Breastfeeding Coalition” according to their director, Faith Giedd. Several Doula Foundation employees are active in the coalition meetings and Breezy Rogers, IBCLC, serves on the Advisory Committee.
