Breast milk is extremely important in the development and growth of infants, but unfortunately, not every baby has access to the nutrition that they need. Now, thanks to Northwest Health - La Porte and its partnership with The Milk Bank, the babies of La Porte can grow healthier and stronger. On Tuesday, May 30 Northwest Health - La Porte announced that it is now a donation site and dispensation site for pasteurized, donor human milk.
“This is just so exciting. We strive to serve every aspect of life we can for our patients, and the team has worked very hard and has dedicated many hours to achieve this. This site is going to be a wonderful place to help young families who need medical assistance to support their baby’s growth. I am thrilled to continue to advance our services here at Northwest Health - La Porte,” said Keith Nichols, CEO of Northwest Health - La Porte and Starke.
Northwest Health - La Porte’s new service will be crucial to the health of La Porte. Not only will it provide breast milk to babies in need but it will allow mothers to donate their excess milk and give back to their community in a meaningful way. All the donated milk will be sent to The Milk Bank to be tested, analyzed, and pasteurized before being dispensed to hospitals and families.
Kristin Wroblewski, director of the Birthing & Family Care Center, couldn’t express enough how excited she is that Northwest Health - La Porte can now provide this service to the community thanks to The Milk Bank.
“Diane Wade from The Milk Bank and her team of clinicians have been wonderful to work with. They’ve truly guided us through this process to help us get where we are now,” said Wroblewski.
The Milk Bank team is equally excited to be working with Northwest Health - La Porte. Diane Wade, a representative of The Milk Bank, emphasized how invaluable Northwest Health - La Porte’s new donation and dispensation site will be not just to La Porte, but the entire Region and beyond.
“Human milk saves lives. This is a public health issue that has impacted countless generations. By providing access in the community to human milk, Northwest Health is giving parents peace of mind, it’s helping babies thrive, and it’s helping the tiniest patients that we serve survive. We are pleased to partner with Northwest Health - La Porte and grateful for all the work they’ve done to bring safe human milk to infants in the community,” said Wade.
Northwest Health - La Porte has already received its first donation. Sarah Bohac delivered her baby at Northwest Health - La Porte in February. When she first started pumping her milk, she had no idea that breast milk donation was a thing. One day when her freezer was overflowing with milk, her friend suggested that she donate it.
“I was intrigued and excited to learn about the opportunity to share my milk,” said Bohac. “A little research led me to The Milk Bank and since then, it has provided me with a safe and effective way to share my milk with the babies who benefit from it the most – the babies who are sick and premature.”
Bohac ended up donating 300 ounces of breast milk to Northwest Health - La Porte’s donation site. Her breast milk will provide an incredible 1,200 feedings to babies in need all throughout the community.
“When we say that every ounce counts, we truly mean it,” said Wade.
Bohac encourages everyone who is able to donate their oversupply of milk. The donation experience has been wonderful for her, and it’s brought her so much joy knowing that she’s making a difference.
“This is the exact population I would have chosen to share my oversupply with if I was to share it directly. The Milk Bank enrollment was extremely easy and straightforward, and their personnel have been friendly and responsive through the entire process. The Milk Bank is a wonderful organization, and I am glad to see more donation and distribution sites open in my local community. If you can spare it, share it,” said Bohac.
Of course, this incredible opportunity wouldn’t be possible without the commitment of Northwest Health - La Porte’s staff and everyone who helped them make their dream of becoming a donation and dispensation site a reality.
“This was made possible by many hours of hard work and dedication by our lactation specialists, Amy and Sandra, as well as by the support and encouragement from the members of The Milk Bank. Big thanks go out to all of them. I’d also like to thank our hospital leadership and administration, especially our CEO Keith Nichols, CNO Scott Ellis, and Director of Nursing Jenica Sutherland. Thank you all so much,” said Wroblewski.
To learn more about Northwest Health - La Porte and its mission to improve the health of babies in our community, visit https://www.nwhealthlaporte.com/.
To learn more about The Milk Bank and how you can donate your breast milk, visit https://www.themilkbank.org/.
