Missouri Breastfeeding Coalition
9/20/2013
Teleconference Meeting Minutes
A. Attendance/Welcome/Introductions
Diane Bibb, Co-Chair
Becky Schwaller, Co-Chair
Kathy Mertzlufft, Treasurer
Karen Urick, Secretary
Charlene Burnett- Mountain/Plains USBC Regional Representative
Teresa Bowman, Dora Downham, Jane Mayfield, Amy Filio, Laura Lowe, Erin O’Reilly
B. Meeting minutes from July 2013 were approved and will be posted on our website for members.
C. Treasurer/Membership Report
*Per Kathy:2033.85 in our account
$10 fee paid for MO State Registration Fee, $119.40paid yearly website fee
$150in income from 15 new members since July 2013
*430 “likes” on our Facebook page
*Debbi (via email) sent a separate announcement about the coalition call to members along with the new password for the members’ only section of the website. The non-members who are just “on the mailing list” didn’t get the password information.
D. Old Business
*Breastfeeding law – SarahGreek, a lobbyist for the MO Midwives Association, and Kathy have been in touch via email to collaborate our efforts in the passing of a new bill which will be introduced this December.
*USBC Grant- Continuity of Care Connections – Diane mentioned thatour plan was approved by the CDC. They will be sending the remainder of grant of $1,200. The activity plan includes Diane providing training to Women’s and Children’s Hospital and possibly Barnes Hospital and Kathy creating a breastfeeding resource guide for the St. Louis, KC and mid-Missouri areas.
*Business Case for Breastfeeding
There’s a new publication from Federal Dept of Labor, Wage and Hour Division called “Break Time for Nursing Mothers Employee Rights Card”. Per Kathy, the MO Dept of Health will be printing these cards out for distribution. See this link for the pdf version:
The Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite materials have been printed and will be mailed to all health departments and local breastfeeding coalitions. All the materials include the MO BF Coalition logo.
*Strategic Workgroup Update-
Education (Charlene)- Charlene is speaking at the Greater Kansas City Lactation Consultant Association (GKCLCA) conference Sept 21 on behalf of Kathy in her role as State Breastfeeding Coordinator. The session is called ‘The State of Breastfeeding in Missouri’
Grant Writing (Diane)- no report
Conference Planning (Diane)- no report
Legislative (Karen) – no report
IBCLC Reimbursement (Becky)- no report
IBCLC Licensure – no chairperson has volunteered. Judy Zimmerlee had expressed interest at a past coalition meeting. Karen will contact Judy to see if she wants to pursue this.
*Missouri Breastfeeding Coalition Logo
Per Debbi via email- we are waiting to hear if this will be approved.
*Coalition Webpage
It was recommended that Debbi add the link to the questionnaire for insurance companies under “RESOURCES”. Many said it was hard to spot on the home webpage even though it was in red.
E. New Business
*USBC request contacting our US Senators & Reps re: the “Support Working Moms Act”. From the USBC website:
Wednesday Wire 9/18/13 - USBC Updates
“Action Alert: Help us send 5,000 letters telling Congress that breastfeeding success shouldn't depend on a mom's job type! Currently, federal law requires employers to provide nursing mothers who are hourly wage- earners ("nonexempt" employees) reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom location to express breast milk for one year after the child's birth. Yet this provision does not cover "exempt" or salaried employees. The Supporting Working Moms Act would ensure a fair and uniform national policy by extending the existing federal provision to cover approximately 12 million executive, administrative, and professional employees, including elementary and secondary school teachers. We're already halfway to our goal! Help us reach 5,000 messages to Congress by sharing this link with a friend, family member, or coworker today: ”
*St. Louis celebration of World Breastfeeding Week starts September 28thwith the all-day Breastfeeding & Parenting: Making It Work!followed by a week of fun events for building mother-to-mother support. See these links for more details:
*AAP webinar TJC Exclusive Breast Milk Feeding- discussed Joint Commission Core Measures and helpful hints for hospital education and getting physicians and staff on board. See more info.
*CDC 2013 Breastfeeding Report Card – released in Aug 2013 and showed that the focus needs to be on ‘Skin to Skin’ and ‘Rooming In’ for better results. See the CDC website for more information. Participants in the teleconference agree that effective methods for breastfeeding assessment is lacking.
*CDC “Strategies to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases: The CDC Guide to Strategies to Support Breastfeeding Mothers and Babies” – another important reference. See CDC website for more information.
F. Other
*WIC and Health Dept Update
80 out of 112 WIC offices thatwill offer breastfeeding Peer Counseling in FFY 2014, which will include over 150 peer counselors.
The government shutdown is impacting WIC and states have enough funding to provide services until the end of October. WIC will have difficulties providing services if the shutdown extends beyond October.
Funding for Breastfeeding Peer Counseling was decreased for FFY 2014, but the Missouri WIC program supplement with other WIC funds in order to expand the program. Due to decreased funding from the USDA, other state peer counselor programs have had to reduce services. Kathy stated that the Missouri WIC Director and her supervisor are extremely supportive of breastfeeding and are the reasons Missouri has been able to implement all the breastfeeding interventions that we have been able to. Charlene offered to write a Thank You letter on our behalf to her for her continued support for breastfeeding. Diane or Becky to sign the letter.
Kathy met with staff at the MO DHSS that provide education to childcare providers and they are in the process of updating a PowerPoint on breastfeeding that is provided to childcare providers.
Kathy is speaking about breastfeeding at atheMO DHSS Home Visiting Nurse Conference on how to help moms overcome their barriers to breastfeeding. Many home visiting nurses are attending WIC and Peer Counseling training, which helps keep our messages consistent.
Show Me 5 Update-In her role as MO Breastfeeding Coordinator, Kathy is talking with hospitals and many are striving for completion of this program. Rooming in and Skin-to-Skin handouts being made since these 2 measures seem the most difficult for hospitals to implement.
*Charlene encouraged us for fun to watch the YouTube video titled “Teach Me To Breastfeed”.
*Charlene and Erin are looking for breastfeeding protocols for doctors’ offices.
G. Next Meetings
*Board teleconference on Oct 18, noon- 1 pm
*Via teleconference on November 15, noon – 2pm, phone number TBA