A Message from the Chair

Happy Summer!!!

As Summer’s finally making its entrance and you’re making vacation plans for the next few months, I want to draw your attention to a couple of exciting events that the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition will be offering soon.

First, save the dates on your calendar for the 2019 Breastfeeding Conference on Oct. 24-25, 2019. Yes, this will be the second year that we’re offering a 2-day conference and both days will most definitely be worth your time!! Two of our speakers include Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, PhD, IBCLC, FAPA and Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC. They’ll be speaking on a range of topics within the breastfeeding field including health disparities, maternal mental health, trends in infant feeding, and tongue tie.    

Additionally, you will want to be on the look-out for professional breastfeeding education in your area. As you may know, the KBC has partnered with the Institute for the Advancement of Breastfeeding & Lactation Education (IABLE) to offer the following two courses in Kansas: 

1.      Breastfeeding Basics

2.      Beyond the Basics: Next Steps in Breastfeeding Knowledge and Skills

Each course is 8 hours long and you may earn continuing education credits and a certificate of completion. Look for one or both of these courses offered in your area by clicking on the following link: http://ksbreastfeeding.org/our-work/breastfeeding-education-courses/

Wishing you all a wonderful, safe Summer!!

I look forward to “seeing” you on June 14!! 

Take care,

Lisette

KBC’s 2019 Breastfeeding Conference Speakers Announced!   

You won’t want to miss this – mark your calendar for Oct. 24-25th in Wichita. The conference will feature “Hot Topics” in lactation on Thursday, Oct. 24th and community engagement on Friday, Oct. 25th. Featured speakers will be the following:

Dr. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, PhD, IBCLC, FAPA will present:

Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC will present on Thursday, Oct. 24th:

NEW Breastfeeding Education opportunities in Kansas!

The Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition is offering  Breastfeeding Basics and  Beyond the Basics  across the state . These 1-day in-person courses were developed in partnership with the Institute for the Advancement of Breastfeeding & Lactation Education (IABLE).  Anyone interested in supporting breastfeeding families is encouraged to attend.  The registration fee includes continuing education credits for lactation consultants, licensed nurses, and dietitians as well as membership in IABLE and the KBC.  Course outlines, registration, dates and locations will be available  here . Interested in hosting courses in 2020? Please contact Brenda Bandy at  [email protected] .

KBC General Membership Meeting

The next General membership meeting will be June 14th , 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Agenda

11:30  – Welcome & introductions

11:35  – Approval of previous meeting minutes (see button below) and current agenda 

11:40  – Member Section Updates – Section Chairs 

11:50  –  Breastfeeding Data Analysis from  Kansas PRAMS report  – Brandi Markert, KDHE 

12:10  –  New KBC Project - Lisette Jacobson, Chair 

12:20  –  KBC 2019 Breastfeeding Conference Updates – Lisette Jacobson, Chair 

12:30  – Sharing - news and requests for help

12:45  – Adjourn  

Next meeting –  August 9th , 2019, 11:30 – 1:00, via GoToMeeting 

Please join from your computer, tablet or smartphone by selecting the "Goto Meeting Link" button below. You can also dial in using your phone : United States: +1 (872) 240-3212; Access Code: 690-080-925 

Urgent!

Your help is needed!

Speak up about the bright spots and gaps in breastfeeding support in Kansas.  Let’s make sure the needs of breastfeeding families are heard and included in the new statewide  strategic plan for early childhood that is being developed. Here’s how:

Only 20+ breastfeeding stories have been collected so far.  Please add your voice to this process to help shape the future of support for families in Kansas. Consider using the KBC’s Talking Points   to help get your started.  This should take only 10-15 minutes of your time. And please feel free to forward these links to others! 

Celebrations

NEW “Communities Supporting Breastfeeding ” –  Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and Johnson County ! Congratulations to both of these communities for their hard work to achieve the Community Supporting Breastfeeding (CSB) designation from the KBC. Thank you for removing barriers and building bridges for breastfeeding support in your communities!

Kansas now has 23 Communities Supporting Breastfeeding who are building a culture of breastfeeding support across multiple sectors. Is your community interested in becoming a CSB community? Check out the  6 criteria here   and see how many of them your community already has on the KBC’s  Breastfeeding Support by Kansas County   database.

Mini-grants awarded!! The following local breastfeeding coalition projects received funding from the KBC, totaling approximately $5,000, to support breastfeeding in their communities: 

New award-winning employer ! Congratulations to Neosho County Community College - Ottawa Campus for earning the Silver Level  Breastfeeding Employee Support Award  in recognition of their support for your breastfeeding employees. 

Finney County adds lactation rooms ! When Finney County remodeled their county administrative building, they converted two storage rooms into lactation rooms. Read the full article.

Breastfeeding advocates in Hays  spoke up about the needs of breastfeeding families at a "Community Engagement Session" that Governor Kelly attended June 6. In photo, Monique Holmes, Cathleen Kroeger, Gov. Kelly and Elaine Rupp. Please attend a Community Engagement Sessions near you. A list of dates and locations can be found  here . 

KBC Member Section Updates   

Child Care

The Child Care Section continues to work on the  Guidelines for Supporting the Breastfeeding Infant During Emergencies in the Child Care Setting  and has partnered with Child Care Aware® of America to finalize the document and promote it nationally. The Section encourages the promotion of the  Breastfeeding Support in the Child Care Setting document and is discussing strategies to promote the  Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Designation . The KBC will present the 2-hour child care provider training “ How to Support the Breastfeeding Family ” in Dodge City on June 29th and at the Topeka Association for the Education of Young Children meeting on Sept. 24th.

The Child Care Section meets monthly on the second Wednesday of the month, 12-1 pm. Please join us if you have an interest in breastfeeding support in the early childhood setting. Submitted by Kris Nicholson, Chair. For more information, contact Kris at  [email protected]

Local Breastfeeding Coalition

Sandy Procter with K-State Research and Extension was the guest speaker at our last meeting on May 11th. She explained their education programs for families and ways in which local BF coalitions can work with K-State Research and Extension. We are also just about done with the Toolkit for Local BF Coalitions.  It is being laid out and beautified.  

As always, we welcome governance documents, mission and vision statements and project ideas to continue to build a library of examples for the Tools for Coalitions page of the KBC website.

The Local Breastfeeding Coalitions Section meets on the second Thursday of odd number months. Our next meeting will be July 11th from 12-1 pm. For more information, contact Susan at  [email protected]

Public Health Section  

The KBC Public Health section has finalized the spreadsheet of the public health breastfeeding initiatives and programs throughout the state. After assessing the information, as well as discussing results from internal program breastfeeding self-assessments, several key questions have surfaced. The plan is to address these questions via education and discussion during upcoming meetings. Please join us for the next meeting on May 9th from 10-11 am. Submitted by Kara Watts, Chair. For more information, contact Kara at   [email protected]

Hospital Section

Our recent guest speaker was Betsy Knappen from the Kansas Perinatal Quality Collaborative (KPQC). She presented on the KPQC Kansas Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Initiative. We are continuing to work on our “Medications in Lactation” webinar scheduled August 27, 12-1 pm. Speakers will include Lauren Morton, PharmD from Wesley Healthcare; Dr. Sonder Crane, pediatrician; and Dr. Chaitali Mahajan, neonatologist from KU Hospital. We will be introducing our “Medications in Lactation” algorithm during the webinar.

Our next Section meeting will be Tuesday, June 25, 12-1 pm. Kara Watts from the KBC Public Health Section will be sharing about their recently developed inventory of public health programs that relate to breastfeeding. For more information or to join the Section, please contact Kathy Walker, Chair, at   [email protected] .

Look where we've been !      

Look where we're going !      

Look for the KBC will be presenting and/or exhibiting at the following upcoming conferences or events:

Screenings of “Chocolate Milk: The Movie ”

Building Local Breastfeeding Coalition  calls:  

Building Local Breastfeeding Coalition  virtual meeting will be  August 30th from 9 to 10 am. Come for support, ideas and sharing – leave inspired! These calls are designed to provide information and support to anyone interested in creating or strengthening a local breastfeeding coalition in KS. You can also dial in using your phone at (669) 224-3412; Access Code: 438-671-789. 

Tricare to restrict coverage of deluxe breast pumps

The Defense Health Agency has clarified coverage of breast pumps by Tricare, the Department of Defense’s health program. TRICARE serves military members and their family members. The third-party insurer will no longer cover pumps with luxury features, such as expanded rechargeable batteries, special tote bags, and smartphone connectivity. Pumps must be purchased now from a Tricare-authorized dealer. Only supplies considered essential will be reimbursed. 

New policy with changes redlined and  Article explaining changes.

New resources

NEW Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition AmazonSmile account 

When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon will make a donation to Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition Inc. Click here: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/26-4042868