Women & Children's Services Completes Exclusive Breastfeeding Support Training

North Oaks Medical Center is among the first hospitals in the nation to complete EMPower Training, a skills-based competency program to support breastfeeding as optimal infant nutrition.

North Oaks Medical Center is one of 90 hospitals selected to participate in the yearlong training program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

EMPower’s goal is to improve public health by advancing health care providers’ knowledge of and skills in evidence-based maternity practices that support breastfeeding as optimal infant nutrition.

As part of this effort, North Oaks Medical Center is committed to training its entire Women & Children’s Services nursing staff in accordance with Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, which is endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI).

“I have been a newborn nurse for 20 years,” shares Jennifer Dunn, a registered nurse in North Oaks Medical Center’s Well Baby Nursery. “With that many years of experience, you think you know everything there is to know about breastfeeding, but EMPower has given me and my peers so many new tools and consistent ways to help new mothers succeed in nursing their babies.”

Tasha Daniel, lead lactation consultant at North Oaks Medical Center, agrees, “A mother’s milk is always preferred because it provides her baby with ideal nutrition for growth, fighting infection and promoting brain development. Thanks to EMPower, our entire Women & Children’s Services nursing team is now equipped with the know-how and skills necessary to confidently help new mothers successfully breastfeed. Ultimately, this will lead to better outcomes for our mothers and their newborns.”

The EMPower Team is led by Abt Associates, Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute and the Center for Public Health Quality.

Members of the North Oaks Women & Children’s Services team gather to celebrate successful completion of EMPower Training. North Oaks Medical Center is one of 90 hospitals selected to participate in the yearlong training program funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The program aims to improve public health through the support of breastfeeding as optimal infant nutrition. Pictured are: (first row, from left) OB/GYN Unit Registered Nurses Nisha Hebert, Heather Ratcliff and Megan McClendon; Children’s Services Manager Tamara Mitchell; Social Worker II Linda Goudeau; (second row, from left) Women’s Services Manager Holly Myers; Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Dale Sanderson; Lead Lactation Consultant Tasha Daniel; Vice President of Patient Services Director Kirsten Riney; and OB/GYN Unit Certified Nursing Assistant Claudette Johnson.