After meeting national standards in mother-infant care and breastfeeding support, Katz Women’s Hospital at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset has earned a “Baby-Friendly” designation.
“To get this recognition took a lot of trial and error,” said Marianne McTyre, registered nurse and director of patient care.
Rachel Cascone, a registered nurse and clinical program manager, said the full process took 18 months from start to finish.
“You know, the preparation for the education plan took about a year, and then we did about maybe seven months to train all the nurses,” Cascone said.
The nurses at Katz Women’s Hospital had to complete comprehensive education requirements, according to Cascone. That included a knowledge competency assessment and mastering 36 specific breastfeeding-related skills.
Cascone also challenged nurses to rethink how they approach infant care delivery.
“We had to really rework and reimagine the workflow, the location of the newborn, the way we move families from labor and delivery to postpartum, and now all of the care that the baby receives is done in the room with the family,” Cascone said. “Those are probably the two biggest things for this hospital.”
Cascone said she’s received positive feedback from families who have noticed the difference since the hospital earned the designation.
“We’ve had families who gave birth here prior to our designation and now come in again, and they’ve recognized the change in their experience, how much more supported and better educated they feel, and how much they value having all of the baby’s care done right in front of them,” she said.
McTyre credited Cascone’s leadership as a key factor in achieving the designation.
“Rachel, as the program manager overseeing this whole designation process, truly made the greatest difference for all of us,” McTyre said. “It really comes down to a leadership team that embraces all the tenets of Baby-Friendly.”
Dr. Kevin Holcomb, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at North Shore University Hospital, said the baby-friendly recognition reflects the hospital’s broader commitment to equity in maternal care.
“Adherence to evidence-based practices that promote the most optimal forms of infant feeding is really important to women across all economic strata, races, and ethnicities,” Holcomb said. “But we do have disparate outcomes in this country with regard to race and ethnicity. So I think it’s even more important that we follow these practices for women who are at higher risk for poor outcomes.”
Reflecting on the designation process, Holcomb said he was proud of the coordination and effort required to meet national standards.
“It’s not easy to attain baby-friendly designation. It’s currently only held by fewer than 500 hospitals in the United States,” he said. “It takes a real coordination between prenatal care, intrapartum care, and even postpartum care to make sure that everything’s aligned toward carrying out the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. It takes a lot of coordination, a lot of dedication.”
Holcomb added that he hopes North Shore University Hospital can serve as an example for others.
“North Shore wasn’t the first Northwell birthing hospital to have Baby-Friendly designation, and we certainly would like to see it spread within the healthcare system,” Holcomb said.
