Breastfeeding Certification at Touro
Through this practicum Touro’s Family Birthing Center, where 3,368 babies were born last year, will obtain its GIFT (Guided Infant Feeding Techniques). GIFT is a “quality improvement and certification program for Louisiana birthing facilities that is based on the best practice model for infant feeding and mother-baby bonding.” The GIFT program helps to assure that the criteria for educating new parents and healthcare staff on the techniques of breastfeeding have been met. This practicum is an opportunity for public health students in Maternal & Child Health.
“Gift is a tool for facilities to enhance their maternal-child services and promote breastfeeding as the normal and preferred method of infant feeding.”
www.thegiftla.org www.touro.com
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to thoroughly research topic from a variety of sources
- Interest in maternal/child care as a public health issue
- Flexible team player who can work comfortably in a diverse workplace
ACTIVITIES include, but are not limited to:
- Advising staff and creating strategies for Touro’s Family Birthing Center to implement Gifts’ “Ten Steps to a Healthy Breastfed Baby”
- Auditing charts and other sources to document the implementation
- Help staff follow up if/when there are low results or no documentation
- Assist staff in using collected data to prepare the Gift certification application
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This is 300-hour volunteer practicum. To apply, please send your cover letter and resume to Denise.Chetta@Touro.com, who will share them with the Family Birthing Center staff for review. Deadline for applications: May 9, 2014.
