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To be designated a Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite, Good Samaritan Hospital was required to create a written breastfeeding friendly policy, offer a private space other than a bathroom where a mother could pump milk and offer support and information to mothers who have chosen to continue to breastfeed when they returned back to work.
The hospital is a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network.
The hospital, which employs more than 1,400 female staff, offers a designated Employee Lactation Room complete with a breast pump that employees can use, breastfeeding-related education materials and breastfeeding-centered artwork to help a mother feel more comfortable and relaxed while using the room.
Among those celebrating at a recent Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite ceremony -- shown in group photo from left to right -- were: Dr. Maria Cecilia Mosquera, MPH, Rockland County Department of Health (RCDOH); Lauire Messenger, RCDOH; Dr. Patricia Ruppert, commissioner at RCDOH; Aney Paul, deputy majority leader, Rockland County Legislature; Dr. Mary Leahy, chief executive officer of Bon Secours Charity Health System; Susan Sippel, RN, administrative director of maternity, Good Samaritan Hospital; Meg Moore, maternity consultant at Good Samaritan; and Maria Rea and Eve Rosenstock, lactation consultants at the hospital in Suffern.
“We want our employees who are new mothers to know that we support their decision to continue breastfeeding when they return to work,” said Maria Rea, RN, BSN, IBCLC, who is lactation consultant at Good Samaritan Hospital. “Breastfeeding is the foundation of good health and it is beneficial to provide breast milk exclusively for the first six months of an infant’s life.”
Good Samaritan Hospital promotes breastfeeding by providing education to new mothers on its benefits and by also providing support and resources to mothers looking for breastfeeding guidance once they leave the hospital. The designation was awarded during Breastfeeding Awareness Month, which runs the entire month of August.
The Good Samaritan Family Birthing Center is the premier birthing center in the region, with more than 3,000 births anticipated this year.
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