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.