Touro Infirmary Achieves Louisiana’s Highest Breastfeeding Quality Designation

Touro Infirmary proudly announces earning Louisiana’s primary breastfeeding designation given by The Gift. The Louisiana Department of Health – Office of Public Health – Bureau of Family Health awards The Gift designation statewide to Louisiana birthing facilities who improve hospital practices and policies that are aligned with the evidence-based, internationally recognized Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding of the WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. Policy development, education of staff, patient education and provision of discharge resources for breastfeeding mothers are key components of the program.

“We are thrilled to join the family of top-tier maternity facilities in the state in receiving The Gift designation,” said Danita Sullivan, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services, Touro Infirmary. “This achievement demonstrates our team’s commitment to offering quality, patient-centered care and highlights improvements Touro has made specifically to help produce better outcomes for mothers and infants, and assure that we are fully supporting mothers who choose to breastfeed.”

The Gift is an evidence-based designation program for Louisiana birthing facilities designed to increase breastfeeding rates and hospital success by improving the quality of maternity services and enhancing patient-centered care. The Gift designation gives Touro a better opportunity to achieve further certifications and accreditations, as well as meet national and international quality measures and standards of care.

“Our goal is to provide mothers and babies with the very best information and tools at this crucial moment in their lives and we are able to do so through valuable hospital partners Touro Infirmary,” said Marci Brewer Asling, State Breastfeeding Program Manager, Bureau of Family Health. “The Gift program encourages continued progress toward the pursuit of the international designation, Baby-Friendly, a global initiative to promote hospitals and birthing centers that offer optimal care in lactation services.”

About Touro Infirmary

For 165 years, Touro Infirmary has provided New Orleans residents from all walks of life with quality and compassionate care. Touro is a proud member of LCMC Health, a local, integrated, not-for-profit academic healthcare system including Children's Hospital, University Medical Center, West Jefferson Medical Center and a management agreement with the New Orleans East Hospital.

To learn more about The Family Birthing Center at Touro, visit www.touro.com/FBC

About The Gift

Launched in 2006, Louisiana’s The Gift program has designated 24 of 52 eligible birthing facilities. It is a hospital designation program that provides resources and a framework to help birthing facilities improve breastfeeding outcomes through incremental adoption of internationally recognized evidence-based practices, the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. The Gift program encourages continued progress toward pursuit of Baby-Friendly™ designation. All Louisiana birthing facilities are eligible to participate in The Gift. For more information, please visit www.thegiftla.org.