The West Central Region of Indiana University Health Community Outreach and Engagement Committee hosted a Community Partner Recognition event on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

Every day, Indiana University Health carries out its mission to improve the health of patients and community members in west and central Indiana through innovation and excellence in clinical care, education, research and service. Our team is proud that our commitment to service extends beyond our hospital walls.

In addressing the identified community health priorities, IU Health Arnett, Frankfort and White Memorial Hospitals have partnered with a number of high quality, highly engaged community organizations and initiatives to help make health and wellness improvement a reality. IU Health seeks out partnerships with non-profit community organizations and health agencies committed to improving community health, particularly in the areas of access to healthcare, health and social services for seniors, mental health and substance use.

Community Partners receiving a three-year commitment included:

• White County United Way $30,000 for a cost share of their AmeriCorps member, as well as supporting substance use prevention, treatment and recovery initiatives of the United Council on Opioids.
• Mental Health America of Greater Wabash Valley $120,000 to support the Crisis Center, as well as provide trainings to hospital staff and community members to increase the community’s capacity to respond to a mental health crisis.
• Health Communities of Clinton County Coalition $90,000 to implement numerous initiatives in each of the priority health need areas. One project, “Not in My Room”, is a traveling interactive exhibit where parents and other adults can gain insights on current trends in drug paraphernalia, including vaping. This trailer exhibit will be available to travel across the West Central Region of IU Health for educational events.
• Willowstone Family Services $13,500 to provide support for the Active Parenting Class, a proven program to help parents of children ages 5-17 years to navigate the stages of parenthood to help their children achieve happiness and success.
• 6th Alarm Peer Support $15,000 to provide training for team members, educational materials and workshops, as well as add to the scholarship fund.
• Junior Achievement $15,000 for IU Health Arnett to be the official healthcare sponsor for BizTown.
• Lafayette Family YMCA $7,500 to fund senior programming.
• Clinton County YMCA $7,500 to fund senior programming.
• LSC DARE $6,000 to purchase annual workbooks for Lafayette School Corporation DARE students.
• Purdue University $30,000 to fund scholarships for the Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program.

In addition, IU Health is supporting 7 schools throughout the region who received the North Central Health Services Resilient Youth Grant. In 2019, NCHS awarded 18 grants in seven counties totaling over $3.7 million in direct funding. Seven schools applied for additional funding from IU Health. Each school will receive an investment of $2,500 over the next three years for a total investment of $52,500.

Those schools are:

• Clinton Central School Corporation
• Clinton Prairie School Corporation
• Community Schools of Frankfort
• Lafayette Central Catholic Schools
• The Crossings at Frankfort
• Roosevelt Middle School
• Tippecanoe School Corporation

Rexanna Tatlock works as a nurse practitioner for IU Health Arnett Cardiology. She also has a husband and son who were diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that affects the collagen in their bodies.

By IU Health Senior Journalist T.J. Banes, tfender1@iuhealth.org

Ask Rexanna Tatlock about the beginnings of her career in healthcare and she talks about the heart – not just the heart of her profession but also the hearts of her loved ones.

A native of Southern Indiana, Tatlock started her career working as a certified nursing assistant caring for patients with Alzheimer’s disease. She became a registered nurse in 2003 and worked in cardiovascular intensive care for seven years. She switched to interventional radiology but missed the bedside care so furthered her training as a resource nurse and began traveling between five ICUs and the ER.

At the time she and her husband, Scott, were living in Peoria, Ill. where he worked for Caterpillar, Inc. They have a son, Ethan, 10. She joined IU Health in 2013.

When Ethan was five months old, Scott was diagnosed with a heart murmur followed by heart surgery. “It was a very long recovery and a year later both my son and my husband were diagnosed with Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type I,” said Tatlock, named after her father “Rex.” It was her mother Glena Engleking who suggested early on that Tatlock would make a good nurse because she has a good heart. She became a nurse practitioner in May of 2018.

The connection between Tatlock’s career and her husband’s heart condition was somewhat serendipitous, but she knew the warning signs of possible cardiovascular conditions.

“I think the good Lord took care of that and helped me identify his heart murmur,” said Tatlock. When both her son and husband were diagnosed with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) Tatlock was by their side as several specialists helped navigate the path to treatment. That treatment eventually led them back to Indiana to be closer to IU Health Riley Hospital for Children. Because it’s rare for adults to be diagnosed, Scott was initially treated at Riley Hospital.

The disease is generally associated with fragile bones and the severity of OI varies among family members. It is generally identified when multiple bone fractures occur during childhood through puberty. It’s estimated that OI Type I occurs in one in 30,000 births. Treatment is aimed at specific symptoms and may include physical therapy and exercise along with medications. Her husband has only broken a few bones and had his first fracture at the age of five. Her son began breaking bones when he was just over a year old and by the age of 10 had 14 fractures and four surgeries.

“It’s a collagen deficiency and includes the heart, eyes – anywhere there is collagen. It’s rare to affect the heart because only about 12 percent who are diagnosed have heart issues which is why it took awhile to diagnose my husband,” said Tatlock, who co-authored an article in the June 2018 issue of the Journal of Nurse Practitioners,”Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type I: Recognition in Primary Care.”

In the past 10 years, Scott has undergone procedures for valve replacement and continues to have yearly infusions at IU Arnett Cancer Care. Both Scott and Ethan are under the care of endocrinologist Dr. Erik Imel.

“When my husband needed open heart surgery I saw what it was like to be a patient and having a loved one looking up from a hospital bed,” said Tatlock. “It’s scary and it’s uncertain. It changed how I practiced as a nurse. I now understand the fear and what it’s like to be exhausted. My heart was in it in a different way.”

On any given day, Tatlock meets with new patients who may have symptoms of heart disease or those she saw in the hospital who are coming in for follow up visits.

“The heart has always fascinated me,” said Tatlock. “It’s a complex care and you really need to understand how the heart affects other body systems and how other body systems impact the heart.”

How does she know she’s chosen the right field?

“I recently had a patient who gave me a genuine hug and got teary eyed and thanked me for taking care of her,” said Tatlock. “That genuine gratitude made me go home and feel really good about what I’d done that day. It’s not that I’d done something heroic, but she was grateful. It’s nice to know that I have that kind of impact on someone and help when they need it.”

In Rachel Ketelaar’s fifth week as a new nurse at IU Health Methodist Hospital, she finds herself taking it one day at a time and learning how to give herself grace and room for learning.

Tuesday

• In some ways my days are becoming easier as I get to know the staff, the patient population, the unit and hospital layout, and hospital policies better. I feel more comfortable doing certain tasks on my own through repetition and asking LOTS of questions. After I apologized for asking questions, one nurse told me, “If a day goes by on this unit where you don’t ask a single question, then you’re doing something wrong.” On the other hand, my days are becoming harder too. I’m being handed more responsibility as I prepare to no longer have a preceptor with me in a few weeks. I’m expected to do more charting, take more initiative in making sure my patients’ needs are met and tasks are done, and relay important information to other team members.

Wednesday

• Today I’m questioning what I said yesterday. Right when I start feeling more confident in a specific task, I face a different scenario and have to take a few steps back and ask for assistance. It’s like 2 steps forward, 1 step backward. I’m realizing that the ONLY way I’ll get more comfortable as a nurse and not have a panicky feeling like I am going to terribly mess something up is by continuing to learn, asking lots of questions, having a good attitude, and giving my 100% effort.

Thursday

• Today I experienced sheer panic! And I wasn’t even working on my floor. I went back to “school” for the day to take my second critical care class. We learned how to interpret abnormal EKGs (such as atrial fibrillation and heart blocks) and we also learned about the contents in the crash cart, used when a patient has no pulse and/or isn’t breathing. Then we did simulations to assess a patient who is progressively getting worse, identifying changes in condition, calling the physician or the rapid response team, and administering blood or medications. I was incredibly nervous even though it was just a mannequin. The simulation was the longest, most panicked 12 minutes of my life. Afterward, I was so relieved that I had hands-on experience in this stressful scenario, because I would rather make mistakes now than when an actual patient is crashing.

• Overall right now, I’m just taking it one day at a time and learning how to give myself grace and room for learning. I tend to have high expectations for who I want to be as a nurse and I realize I can’t be hard on myself for having trouble working equipment or not knowing answers to all the questions my patients have. Through this past month, I feel extremely supported by A2N’s staff and I am excited to continue to work with them!

Read more:
New Nurse: Rachel’s Story – Week 1
New Nurse: Rachel’s Story – Week 2
New Nurse: Rachel’s Story – Week 3
New Nurse: Rachel’s Story – Week 4
New Nurse: Rachel’s Story – Week 5

Apply Yourself – Being a nurse at Indiana University Health means building a professional nursing career designed by you, with competitive benefits and a culture that embraces your unique strengths and supports your personal and professional goals. If you are seeking an organization where you can engage professionally, develop clinical expertise, embrace learning, foster new relationships and fuel your spirit of inquiry, apply today.

Indiana University Health Frankfort Hospital is now offering breast tomosynthesis, also known as 3D mammography.

The new equipment installed at IU Health Frankfort Hospital, works much like traditional mammography. During the 3D portion of the exam, an X-ray arm sweeps over the breast, taking multiple images in seconds. This is especially good for women with dense breast tissue because the dense tissue is difficult to see through on standard 2D imaging. The 3D imaging allows the radiologist to scroll through that tissue in very thin layers, like looking at each page of a book instead of just the front cover.

“Tomosynthesis gives us the ability to see masses, particularly in dense breast tissue, that we might have difficulty detecting with traditional mammography. Because it reduces the overlap of tissue, most investigators have found that it leads to fewer callbacks and therefore less anxiety for women,” explains Phyllis Martin-Simmerman, MD, a specialist in breast imaging for IU Health Arnett Physicians Radiology.

“We are excited to bring the gold standard of 3D mammography to our community,” stated Abby Colby, RT (R)(M) with IU Health Frankfort Hospital. “This technology will help better serve our patients by giving us even greater detail on our patient’s mammogram which could lead to earlier diagnosis and saving more lives. We believe the Frankfort community deserves the best quality of care and this upgrade will help us provide that.”

An additional 3D mammography machine has been installed at the IU Health Arnett Medical Office Building in West Lafayette. Now all women throughout the West Central Region will receive a 3D mammography scan as a part of their standard of care. The West Central Region includes IU Health Arnett, IU Health Frankfort and IU Health White Memorial.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation reports that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Starting at age 40, women should discuss with their primary care provider about scheduling a mammogram. High-risk women may need earlier screening. If breast cancer is detected early, a patient’s five-year survival rate is 98 percent. If you would like to schedule a mammogram or have questions about this important breast health procedure, please call IU Health Frankfort Hospital at, 765.659.1110 or visit iuhealth.org/mammo

When she was first diagnosed with Sickle Cell disease, Deondra Clark was told she might not live past her 21^st birthday. Now at the age of 26, she’s focused on being the best mother she can be and hoping to pursue a career in medicine.

By IU Health Senior Journalist T.J. Banes, tfender1@iuhealth.org

It’s an inherited group of disorders where red blood cells form sickle shapes, die early and leave a shortage of red blood cells. When Sickle Cell crisis strikes, the blood flow is blocked resulting in unimaginable pain, infection and stroke.

Deondra Clark was experiencing that pain recently. Her stay at IU Health University Hospital was one of more than 20 since her birth. At 26, she is still beating the odds – she was told early in life that she might not live beyond her 21^st birthday.

But she has hope. And she also has two young children – Zy’are Clark, 1, and Payton Wheat, 3 – who give her the will to live. One of four children Clark is the only one in her family who was diagnosed at birth with Sickle Cell.

As she nibbled at some mashed potatoes Clark recently joked with nurse Sarah Lee about their matching braces. Keeping her spirits up helps Clark focus on getting out of the hospital and back home with her children.

Born in Elkhart, Clark moved with her parents to Oakland, Calf. and returned to Indiana when she was in grade school. She spent her childhood on medication and had her first stroke at the age of 16 – severely affecting her memory.

She will never forget the pain – both physical and emotional.

“In school I couldn’t do much because of my disease. I missed out on sports, prom, and homecoming. Some things required being outside and my body doesn’t do well with cold. I couldn’t do swimming in school because if I jumped in the pool by body would go straight into crisis. It wasn’t a life like other kids,” said Clark, who is in the care of oncologist Dr. Rakesh Mehta.

She recently earned her diploma through the Excel Center and a certification as a business professional. She’s also working toward training as a certified nursing assistant and has her hopes set toward a career as a physician working with children diagnosed with Sickle Cell.

“I won’t stop until I see ‘Dr. Deondra Averielle Clark’ on my diploma,” she said.

She says she has a couple of people to thank for their encouragement. Through the Excel Center she met Tiffany Jewell who facilitated a senior seminar.

“She helped me through so much like times like this when I’m in the hospital she’d say ‘you’ve got this’ and ‘keep going, don’t give up.’ It took me awhile in school but when I finally walked across that stage she cried, I cried,” said Clark, who works part-time as a senior caregiver.

Through the Indiana Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center Clark attended a support group where she met Dr. Simone Eastman Uwan. Born in Guyana South America, Uwan grew up with her young sister and mother until she was 13, and immigrated to the United States in 1984. She became a doctor focusing on caring for the underserved. Last year, Uwan released the book “A Doctor in a Patient’s Body: Dreaming Big with Sickle Cell Disease and Chronic Pain.” The book addresses her life with a diagnosis of Sickle Cell disease.

The disease affects millions of people throughout the world. Last month, doctors reported the first evidence that genetically edited cells could offer a safe way to treat Sickle Cell disease. Reports indicate the gene-editing technique called CRISPR have started working, inside the body of the first sickle cell patient to receive the experimental treatment.

According to the National Institutes of Health in the United States most people who have Sickle Cell disease are of African ancestry. About one in 13 African American babies are born with the Sickle Cell trait and about one in every 365 is born with the disease.

Mallori Walker doesn’t only see her young patients when they are sick; she enjoys following them through their lives – watching them grow from infants to teens.

By IU Health Senior Journalist T.J. Banes tfender1@iuhealth.org

As she walks into the exam room Mallori Walker picks up one-week-old Atlee Chapman and begins to talk to the baby with a soothing familiarity. Atlee was born November 13^th to Joe and Tabatha Chapman of Rensselaer.

In any given day Walker can see between 20-25 patients in her Lafayette office.

“I really like that I get to take care of such a wide age range of children and watch them develop from infants to toddlers – to see that intellectual development and physical growth and to walk along with them on that journey,” said Walker, who started her career with IU Health 11 years ago working as a nurse in bedside care at both IU Health Arnett and Riley Hospital for Children.

Nursing is a second career for Walker who grew up in Joliet, Ill. She followed her older brother Justin “Chris” Walker to Indiana when he came to Purdue on a baseball scholarship. She also has a younger brother Jason. Her parents are Juanita Carr and the late Melvin Walker. After receiving a degree in education and working for Purdue athletics for five years, she returned to pursue her nursing degree.

It was her late grandmother – Elizabeth Walker – who had a profound influence on Mallori’s decision.

When she was working at Purdue, her grandmother had a stroke and Walker spent time in North Carolina helping her father care for his mom.

“I saw how the nurses cared for her. They were giving her a bath and the nurse invited me to help,” said Walker. “I told my grandmother how I wanted to be a nurse like them. Grandma hadn’t said much and I went to give her a hug ‘good bye’ and it was like divine intervention. The last conversation I had with her she said ‘be the best nurse you can be.’ I got home and applied to Purdue to go into nursing.”

Since then she has been recognized with a Daisy Award celebrating the extraordinary compassion nurses provide to their patients. She is also a recipient of the IU Health Values Leadership Award and serves on the IU Health Diversity and Inclusion team.

Four years ago she became a nurse practitioner and rounded at IU Health Arnett Hospital where she saw many of the newborns who are now in her pediatric care. She also teaches courses at Purdue including leadership in nursing and pediatric health assessment.

Her days can vary from seeing a well child to a baby who wakes up with a fever. All her patients have a special place in her heart and Walker fondly remembers each child along with the parents.

When asked about someone who made a special impression on her Walker talks about an 11-year-old who came in for a concussion two years ago.

“I saw her frequently and it took her awhile to get better. Sometimes you don’t know exactly how that care translates to the kiddos long term,” said Walker. But she recently received a note from the child’s parent that the young patient had nominated Walker as her Hoosier Hero. She went to school to surprise the girl who offered a presentation on Walker.

Who knows, maybe some day that child will pursue a career in healthcare.

And Walker’s advice to others who choose that path: “I would say if you are interested in healthcare then find an opportunity to shadow someone in the field. It’s a commitment and I would also find someone that can be a role model – someone that you can trust and learn from. I have had a handful of them who have been good to me since I started in bedside care and encouraged me to get my master’s degree. They would ask me questions about the patients during rounds and help me prepare answers to tough questions.”

More about Walker:

• She is a trained dancer in jazz, ballet, tap and hip-hop and serves as the head coach for the Purdue Dance Team. Twenty-two dancers practice three to four times a week and perform at every Boilermaker football game and at select men’s and women’s basketball games, baseball, and soccer games. It is the same dance team Walker performed with at Purdue. She also danced for the Indiana Pacers for six seasons after college.
• When her father died eight years ago, Walker made a trip to Haiti where she met and sponsored two boys. She continues to go to Haiti twice a year and has helped the young men move from an orphanage into their own home. “People were so gracious to me when my dad died. We were overwhelmed with love and support. I wanted to pay if forward.”

As more parents struggle with substance use disorder, more child protective cases are filed, and more parents are at risk of losing custody of their children to foster care.

A first-of-its-kind collaboration is working to break this chain of events and keep families intact. The team includes the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS), Indiana University Health, Indiana University School of Social Work and IU Health Foundation. Supported by an $813,000 grant from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, secured by IU Health Foundation, the collaboration will operate a two-year pilot program in Marion County.

Substance use disorders are often identified only when a DCS caseworker visits a home or a parent is in front of a judge in a custody hearing. Though parents at risk of losing custody due to substance use disorder are highly motivated to get treatment, the path to treatment is unclear and slow. The new program will connect parents with IU Health peer recovery coaches at the moment when they are at greatest risk of losing custody or prolonging separation from their children. These specially trained coaches – who themselves have experienced addiction and are in long-term recovery – can offer recovery resources on the spot via virtual care technology, potentially allowing children to remain in the home, or at least spend less time in foster care, while the parent is pursuing wellness.

“As the state’s largest healthcare system, IU Health is in a unique position to identify community health needs and marshal resources to address them. In this case, it allows us to meet people where they are, at home or in a courtroom,” said Jami Marsh, executive director, system philanthropic strategy for IU Health Foundation. “We are grateful for our partners in this effort and to the Fairbanks Foundation for funding this important work.”

Peer recovery coaches work on the IU Health Virtual Care Behavioral Health team and have access to professionals who consult on specific cases. After an initial consultation, individual treatment plans – which could include intensive outpatient recovery programs – are determined. Follow-up takes place within 48 hours after the initial consultation.

“Opioid use disorder and substance use disorder often create a tragic domino effect that hits Indiana’s children and families especially hard,” said Claire Fiddian-Green, president and CEO of the Fairbanks Foundation. “This collaboration will provide patients with access to treatment at a vulnerable time, increasing the likelihood of their success with recovery and helping to reduce the risk of family separation due to addictions.”

DCS has had positive experiences with programs involving peer recovery coaching in Monroe County, where the program showed that quick access to treatment and supportive addiction services were key.

“Our first responsibility is ensuring the safety of the child or children,” said David Reed, deputy director of child welfare services at DCS. “Ultimately, we want to preserve the family unit, so if we can get the adults in the home the help they need while keeping their family together, then we have succeeded.”

In the last five years, the percentage of child protective cases in Marion County has spiked. In 2017 alone, parent drug abuse was a factor in 53.7% of child protective cases. The full extent of the problem may be even larger, but data collection is incomplete. A secondary benefit of this program will be data gathering and analysis, which the IU School of Social Work will manage as part of the program evaluation.

Assuming the intervention program is successful, the IU Health Foundation intends to secure additional funding to continue and expand the program.

To contribute to programs you care about, or learn more about the IU Health Foundation, visit iuhealthfoundation.org.

When they began researching the top transplant programs in the nation, Jeffrey “Jeff” and Joan Labow decided IU Health was their best option.

By IU Health Senior Journalist T.J. Banes, tfender1@iuhealth.org

They came to Indianapolis six weeks prior to his transplant and Jeffrey “Jeff” and Joan Labow have decided there’s much to like about the Circle City. They enjoyed a shrimp cocktail at Harry & Izzy’s, and a hearty Italian dinner at Mama Carolla’s, took in a play at the IRT, and marveled at the murals in Fountain Square and along Mass Avenue. They walked the downtown canal, around the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, and even attended the Annual Oktoberfest.

“Indianapolis is a vibrant and cultural city – like a small New York,” said Jeff Labow. This endorsement comes from a couple who has traveled the world – the South of France, Bangkok, Rio, Italy, Germany, Spain, Alaska, and England – just to name a few of their trips. Joan Lebow is a flight attendant for Delta Airlines.

The couple met in college at the City University in New York and married 38 years ago. They’ve spent most of their lives in Westchester County where Jeff worked as a probation officer in adult crime. In addition to working as a flight attendant Joan is a registered nurse.

When it came time to begin researching transplant hospitals, they followed their doctor’s recommendations. With Joan’s nursing background, they took a deep dive into their surf and decided on IU Health.

“I just felt comfortable here,” said Jeff, about meeting with his transplant coordinator Cheri Richard and Gastroenterologist Dr. Marco Lacerda.

It was when he was in college that Labow was diagnosed with Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). The disease affects the bile ducts, a digestive fluid produced by the liver. PSC causes inflammation in the bile ducts, scars and blockage. Over time it builds up and damages the liver.

“My doctor back then told me it was deadly and I had five years to live at best and then a friend talked to me about transplant,” said Lebow. He had his first liver transplant in 1990 at the age of 40. “I had to get my state senator to see my case and I actually met Thomas Starzl,” said Lebow. Known as “the father of modern transplantation,” Starzl, was the first physician to attempt human liver transplant in 1963. His five decades of groundbreaking work set the course for most of the present day transplant surgeries.

After his first transplant, Labow was discharged in about a week and went back to life as usual. “It went well and I never looked back, but it wasn’t a great liver. There was some Ischemic damage,” said Labow. Ischemic hepatitis is typically caused when there is inadequate oxygen to the organ. In the years that followed Labow suffered constant itching from bile salt accumulation. He knew he would eventually need another transplant.

On October 10, under the care of Dr. Chandrashekhar Kubal, Labow received his second liver transplant. He remained hospitalized for several weeks and during his recovery took part in both yoga and music therapy at IU Health University Hospital.

The CompleteLife Program offers comprehensive therapies that attend to the body, mind and spirit of patients and caregivers. “It was amazing having these techniques to help in his recovery,” said Joan Labow. “He’s always been very much into music – especially jazz, blues, and rock. He hasn’t played guitar in awhile but it all came back to him in the hospital room.”

The Labows will remain in Indianapolis for several weeks and hope to do more exploring when Jeff gets stronger.

For how he says, he wants to focus on healing.

“It’s important to me to give back to others,” said Jeff. “I think the best way I can do that right now is fight to give other people hope. I think they can pick up on that vibe.”

She’s a NICU mother and a nurse who has seen first-hand the benefits of breastfeeding. Now Ashley Corwin is heading up a special program at IU Health Jay.

By IU Health Senior Journalist T.J. Banes tfender1@iuhealth.org

She’s the mother of three and she’s a nurse who works with mothers and newborns. Those two qualifiers set the wheels in motion for Ashley Corwin to start a donor milk supplementation program at IU Health Jay.

“Having breastfed my three children, I know breastfeeding is challenging. As completely ‘natural’ as it is supposed to be that is not usually the case,” said Corwin, who began taking additional courses four years ago to learn more about the benefits of breastfeeding. A year later she became a, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).

“Working in the newborn nursery we would have babies with low/failing blood glucose, infant and maternal health conditions and emergencies that would lead to the need for formula supplementation,” said Corwin. “I quickly determined when we were supplementing with formula that mothers were more quick to give up on their breastfeeding goals. Most felt they had already failed at breastfeeding if formula had to be used. Mothers were switching to formula sooner because they were discouraged.” Corwin is also the mother of a NICU baby who was given donor milk during his hospital stay. It drove her passion for donor milk supplementation and also her certification as a lactation consultant.

Her research led Corwin to Sarah Long, an international certified lactation consultant with the Indiana Milk Bank. Corwin learned the process to implement the use of Pasteurized Donor Human Milk at IU Health Jay.

According to the Human Milk Banking Association of North America, member milk banks follow strict screening, processing and dispensing guidelines developed in consultation with the Center for Disease Control and the US Food and Drug Administration. Donor milk is pasteurized using the Holder method – eliminating potentially harmful bacteria while retaining valuable nutrients. After pasteurizing, the milk is ready for freezing and storage and can be shipped to hospitals and outpatient families.

By January 2017, the program was in place at IU Health Jay Hospital.

Breast milk is known to contain antibodies that help fight viruses and bacteria and lower a baby’s risk of developing asthma and allergies. Research indicates babies who are fed exclusively breast milk for the first six months have fewer ear infections, respiratory viruses and bouts of diarrhea.

IU Health Jay is a critical care access hospital with a level 1 nursery (delivering babies at 35 weeks and above). The Indiana Mother’s Milk Bank was founded in Indianapolis in 2005 to help improve health for premature and ill infants. The program helps educate donors and recipients along with organizing milk drives to raise awareness of the benefits of breast milk. Riley Hospital also has a milk bank for NICU babies.

“This program has been very successful for our exclusive breastfeeding rates and has kept our mothers encouraged to breastfed,” said Corwin. Since 2018, 85 percent of newborns needing supplementation were provided donor breast milk. In all the hospital has provided donor milk to 72 mother-infants since April 2017.

Encompass Credit Union has made a generous commitment of $150K to support the IU Health Frankfort visitor garden – ensuring patients and families have a beautiful place to rest and to heal.