Rancho Springs Medical Center Once Again Receives International Award for Lactation Care Services
The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) and International Lactation Consultant Association® (ILCA®) have recognized Rancho Springs Medical Center for the second consecutive time for excellence in lactation care.
Rancho Springs Medical Center has received the IBCLC Care Award in recognition for staffing professionals who hold the prestigious International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® certification (IBCLC®) and providing a lactation program for breastfeeding families. In addition, the facility demonstrated that is has recently completed activities that help protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
Kristen Johnson, Chief Nursing Officer at Southwest Healthcare System stated, “Our focus is always centered on the high quality of care and an excellent patient experience. This attention to the needs of our moms and babies, ensures we exceed their expectations. Our lactation program is top-notch and our complete couplet care model ensures mom and baby are never separated, which supports and enhances breastfeeding throughout their stay.”
According to Decalie Brown, President of ILCA, “This recognition highlights the efforts being made by maternity facilities all across the world to help mothers get off to a good start with breastfeeding, and to support them in reaching their goals. IBCLC is the leading internationally recognized lactation certification in the world, and IBCLC certificants are highly skilled in helping mothers with the questions and concerns that can arise. They are also an important part of the overall maternal and child health team by assuring that evidence-based policies and practices are in place that help mothers succeed with breastfeeding.”
Andreja Tekauc Golob, Chair of IBLCE states, “IBCLC Care Award recipients should be applauded for their efforts to improve maternal and child health by promoting and providing expert lactation care within their community. By hiring IBLCE certificants, they ensure that their patients are receiving lactation care from healthcare professionals that are educated and trained to deal with the most challenging situations.”
International Board Certified Lactation Consultants focus on preventive care, so they are available during pregnancy to assess the mother and provide information on how to successfully initiate breastfeeding. They continue that assistance after the baby is born by helping mothers overcome breastfeeding challenges, providing accurate information, and continuing to support them as their baby grows. They assist mothers returning to work or school, help mothers in more unusual situations such as breastfeeding more than one baby or nursing a sick or premature infant, and help train nursing staff to manage basic breastfeeding care.
As allied health care professionals with the leading internationally recognized certification for professional lactation services, IBCLC professionals work in hospitals and birthing centers, clinics, public health agencies, private practice, community settings, government agencies, and in research. There are currently more than 28,100 IBCLCs in 102 countries worldwide that are certified by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (www.iblce.org), a program independently accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). NCCA accreditation represents a mark of quality for certification programs.
Brown says that “Breastfeeding rates are on the rise today and with that dramatic increase, the need for trained professionals who can help also increases. Breastfeeding is natural and often works quite well without intervention. But there can be complications or risk factors and mothers need extra support. An IBCLC is the trained expert with clinical skill who works with the entire health care team so that a mother’s breastfeeding goals can be met.”
Rancho Springs Medical Center – This hospital campus of Southwest Healthcare System features the largest Women’s Center (Awarded the Blue Distinction for Outstanding Maternity Care) in the region which includes Rady Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit which is the highest rated NICU in the region (Rady San Diego: Ranked 5th in the nation for neonatal care by US News and World Report 2017), the only hospital in the region with OB/GYN on-site physicians 24 hours a day/7 days a week, a Certified Primary Stroke Center, and the da Vinci © Robotic Surgical System performing the region’s first virtually no-scar single site procedures. www.ranchospringsmedcenter.com