Health
UKIAH, Calif. – Ukiah Valley Medical Center’s Family Birth Center has received the IBCLC Care Award by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners and the International Lactation Consultant Association.
In fact, UVMC is one of only 20 health care facilities in California to receive this award.
The IBCLC Care Award is a special recognition given to Hospital-based facilities and community based agencies that staff an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant as part of the care team serving new families.
To be eligible, the facility must have a currently certified IBCLC on staff, a professional lactation support program available five-to-seven days a week, evidence of having completed a breastfeeding or lactation consultant promotion/support project, and breastfeeding training for staff within the last two years.
“I am so proud of our lactation team,” said Donna Bauer, director of the Family Birth Center. “This is not an easy award to achieve and requires that the lactation team put evidence-based initiatives in place to help new mom’s achieve their desire to breastfeed.”
Bauer also shared that the award is a reflection of how well the nursing team worked together. “Everyone wanted to help and contribute. Each of the Family Birth Center nurses is knowledgeable about breastfeeding – providing education and support for mothers desiring to breastfeed.”
According to Registered Nurse, Terri Curtis, and lactation consultant, “I am honored that UVMC was given the IBCLC Care Award.”
Curtis is a certified IBCLC lactation consultant and leads the lactation team – which consists of certified lactation educators and a peer breastfeeding counselor.
“We’ve put several new practices in place which helped us achieve this award,” said Curtis.
One of these initiatives – Skin to Skin – encourages mothers to have skin-to-skin contact with their baby in the first hour after delivery. Research has shown this allows baby and mom to become familiar with each other, allowing them to form a bond which facilitates the establishment of breastfeeding.
UVMC is committed to serving the community by providing destination-quality health care services, like the Family Birth Center which offers large private birthing suites, a special care nursery (Level II NICU), breastfeeding specialists and childbirth classes.
For more information on childbirth classes, to schedule a tour of the Family Birth Center, or speak with a breastfeeding specialist, please call 707-463-7550. A virtual tour of the Family Birth Center is also available to watch at www.bit.ly/UVMCFBC .
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ACT Today! (Autism Care and Treatment Today!), a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide care and treatment to children with autism, announces it has provided $1 million in access to care and treatment to families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who cannot afford the necessary tools their children need to reach their full potential.
ACT Today! provides access to services such as social skills programs, tuition for special needs schools, therapy, medical care, assistive technology, basic safety equipment, assistance for military families with children with autism, assistance dogs, among many others.
This earmarks the monetary sum of direct services and support to roughly 1,000 individuals with autism.
“Our goal is to introduce and help facilitate early and on-going treatment by providing the necessary resources (including referrals, funding and guidance) to individuals with autism and their families,” said ACT Today!’s executive director Nancy Alspaugh-Jackson. “ACT Today! is proud to offer an assistance program for assessments, treatments, and life supports that may not otherwise be covered privately or by other third-party funding sources such as school districts, county programs, insurance, and/or other grant making entities.”
The ACT Today! Assistance Program funds are allocated based on annual fundraising activities. The Board of Directors determines the number and amounts of each grant at the beginning of each term. Requests for endowments or multi-year grants are not accepted. Applicants must demonstrate financial need by providing the following:
- Proof of household income;
- Number of dependants / number of dependants with ASD;
- Information about access to third-party funding sources.
For more information about the ACT Today! Assistance Program, visit http://www.act-today.org/act-today-grant-program.php .
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ST. HELENA, Calif. – St. Helena Hospital Napa Valley has been recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review with the fifth lowest rate of serious blood clots after surgery of over 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals in the United States.
The serious blood clot rate is based on an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety indicator – postoperative pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis rate.
The rate is the number of postoperative serious blood clots per 1,000 surgical discharges from July 2009 through June 2011.
Prevention of the postoperative conditions deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), both of which can lead to serious blood clots and stroke, begins at the physician level and is carried out through the nursing staff by following a set of core measures.
Prior to surgery, the hospital’s physicians educate each patient on medications and exercises necessary during post-surgery recovery to avoid any complications.
The hospital’s nurses get patients up and moving around post-surgery and making sure compression devices are used to prevent blood clotting.
The surgical team at St. Helena Hospital Napa Valley implements many precautions to help eliminate or reduce the incidence of DVTs and PEs, including the appropriate use of pharmacological and/or mechanical interventions.
“This is a reflection of our commitment to destination-quality health care and our physicians and surgical team’s dedication to excellence,” said Nia Lendaris, vice president, Patient Care Services. “Preventive measures are started very early on, and because our physicians take pride and ownership of this process, we’ve been able maintain a very low postoperative blood clot rate.”
St. Helena Hospital Napa Valley is part of Adventist Health, a faith-based, not-for-profit integrated health care delivery system serving communities in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. For more information visit www.StHelenaHospitals.org .
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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – David Santos, vice president of operations for St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, will address the Lake County Church Women United on Friday, May 3.
He will speak from 11:30 a.m. to noon at the Middletown Methodist Church, 15833 Armstrong St.
Santos will present the new and enhanced services available at St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake that support opportunities for better community health.
“Our goal is to change the existing health paradigm in our community though wellness and healthy life-style programs such as Live Well, an innovative program that addresses chronic pain and medical conditions to improve quality of life,” Santos said. “We want to be a hospital that extends beyond our doors by working with community leaders and agencies on a lasting effort towards a healthier Lake County. We will continue this effort with the opening of our new Emergency Department next month.”
St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake is part of Adventist Health, a faith-based, not-for-profit integrated health care delivery system serving communities in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.
For more information visit www.sthelenahospitals.org .
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