DKH baby

program

recognized

PUTNAM — Day Kimball Hospital has received Baby-Friendly designation from Baby-Friendly USA, Inc., the national authority for the global Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in the U.S. The prestigious international award recognizes birthing facilities who successfully implement the initiative’s Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and offer breastfeeding mothers the information, confidence, and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies.

BFHI is a global program that was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 1991 to encourage and recognize hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding and mother/baby bonding.

Deborah Levesque, RN, BSN, IBCLC and clinical coordinator for Day Kimball Medical Group OB/GYN services, was instrumental in putting the measures in place required for the hospital to attain the designation. She said, “I would like to thank the entire DKH staff for their support during this lengthy and intensive process. We should be very proud, as we are among a small minority of hospitals and birth centers that have been recognized as Baby-Friendly, with about 16 percent of U.S. hospitals and birth centers and only six hospitals in Connecticut currently designated as Baby-Friendly.”

 Rachel Katsoulis, RNC-MNN and operations coordinator for the hospital’s Maternal Child Health Department also played a major role in the multi-year qualification process. She added, “At Day Kimball Hospital we offer top-notch care for women and newborns in a family-centered, warm and welcoming environment. We have always been committed to providing high-quality maternal care, achieving optimal infant feeding outcomes and enhancing mother/baby bonding, so this designation validates our work.  We are honored to be recognized.”