Woodwinds Health Campus in Woodbury, Minnesota has implemented many quality and safety programs. Many of these programs stems from of the Healthy people 2020 topics and objectives. Improving the health of mothers and children is one of the Healthy People 2020 topics. Woodwinds Health Campus has taken this Healthy People topic and has expanded on it. Breastfeeding has many health benefits for mothers and children and because of this, Woodwinds implemented a program, June 2014, called Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. This program was designed to improve the rates of breastfeeding and thus improving the health of mothers and children. This paper will discuss this policy in detail, why the program is so important, how to become part of
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To become part of the BFHI a hospital must implement all 10 of these steps (Baby-Friendly USA, 2012). There are 3 stages to becoming Baby-friendly. Stage 1 is setting up the foundation by writing a breastfeeding policy that implement all 10 of the steps above. Stage 2 is educated the workforce. Stage 3 consists of Parents’ experiences of the maternity services such as supporting pregnant women to recognize the important of breastfeeding. Once these stages are completed, a full assessment is performed, (Baby-Friendly USA, 2012). Research has shown that these steps have increased the breastfeeding initiation and duration of breastfeeding. New mothers exposed to at least 6 of these steps were 13 times more likely to continue breastfeeding at 6 weeks postpartum when comparing them to mothers who had not been exposed to any of the steps, (Baby-Friendly USA, 2012). Woodwinds is currently collecting data for 2015. The nurse manager reports that she believes the number will be higher than the state of Minnesota’s numbers for 2014. One could look the CDC’s Breastfeeding Report Card at the data for 2013 verses 2014. The number of mother who ever breastfeed in Minnesota for 2013 was 73.5% and in 2014, the number had increased to 89.2% the national average stayed about the same of 76.5%, (Breastfeeding …show more content…
This means that most health insurance plans must cover breast pumps, ("Breastfeeding Benifits," n.d.). This makes access to breastfeeding support affordable. Woodwinds has International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) available to support mothers after they are released from the hospital. These visits are covered under most healthcare plans. Woodwinds also has support groups for mothers to come and talk to other mothers. The goal of offering these services and groups is to get the mothers the help they need because breastfeeding has a huge impact on the economy of the United States. If 90% of mothers exclusively breastfeed for 6 months the United States would save $13 billion dollars per year (Bartick & Reinhold, 2010).
Nursing Process to Influence Healthcare Policy Nurses are directly involved in influencing healthcare policy. Nurses work with patients daily they see what changes need to be made and advocate for the changes as they can. Nurses can join organizations like the International Council of Nurses so that they have one voice to influence health policy changes, (Benton, 2012). Having strong, well-organized nursing associations can be a powerful tool for influencing and achieving nursing goals. (Benton, 2012).
To become part of the BFHI a hospital must implement all 10 of these steps (Baby-Friendly USA, 2012). There are 3 stages to becoming Baby-friendly. Stage 1 is setting up the foundation by writing a breastfeeding policy that implement all 10 of the steps above. Stage 2 is educated the workforce. Stage 3 consists of Parents’ experiences of the maternity services such as supporting pregnant women to recognize the important of breastfeeding. Once these stages are completed, a full assessment is performed, (Baby-Friendly USA, 2012). Research has shown that these steps have increased the breastfeeding initiation and duration of breastfeeding. New mothers exposed to at least 6 of these steps were 13 times more likely to continue breastfeeding at 6 weeks postpartum when comparing them to mothers who had not been exposed to any of the steps, (Baby-Friendly USA, 2012). Woodwinds is currently collecting data for 2015. The nurse manager reports that she believes the number will be higher than the state of Minnesota’s numbers for 2014. One could look the CDC’s Breastfeeding Report Card at the data for 2013 verses 2014. The number of mother who ever breastfeed in Minnesota for 2013 was 73.5% and in 2014, the number had increased to 89.2% the national average stayed about the same of 76.5%, (Breastfeeding …show more content…
This means that most health insurance plans must cover breast pumps, ("Breastfeeding Benifits," n.d.). This makes access to breastfeeding support affordable. Woodwinds has International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) available to support mothers after they are released from the hospital. These visits are covered under most healthcare plans. Woodwinds also has support groups for mothers to come and talk to other mothers. The goal of offering these services and groups is to get the mothers the help they need because breastfeeding has a huge impact on the economy of the United States. If 90% of mothers exclusively breastfeed for 6 months the United States would save $13 billion dollars per year (Bartick & Reinhold, 2010).
Nursing Process to Influence Healthcare Policy Nurses are directly involved in influencing healthcare policy. Nurses work with patients daily they see what changes need to be made and advocate for the changes as they can. Nurses can join organizations like the International Council of Nurses so that they have one voice to influence health policy changes, (Benton, 2012). Having strong, well-organized nursing associations can be a powerful tool for influencing and achieving nursing goals. (Benton, 2012).