Colorado Organizations Receive Breast-feeding Friendly Worksite Awards
July 27, 2007—DENVER—The Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment's Physical Activity and
Nutrition Program, in collaboration with the Colorado
Breast-feeding Task Force, today announced the names of 37
Colorado businesses and organizations receiving
Breast-feeding Friendly Worksite Awards. The awards,
announced in anticipation of the upcoming World
Breast-feeding Week, Aug. 1-7, recognize businesses and
organizations that provide supportive workplace environments
and practices for female employees who are breast-feeding
their babies. Two Colorado hospitals, University of
Colorado Hospital and Sky Ridge Medical Center, earned
gold-level awards. Thirteen organizations received silver
designations and 22 garnered bronze-level awards. Bronze,
silver and gold designations signify increasing levels of
support from recipient organizations. Additional businesses
and organizations were recognized with honorable mention
designations.
This makes two years in a row that University of Colorado
Hospital, recently relocated to Aurora, received the gold
designation. Sky Ridge Medical Center, located in Lone Tree,
is a new gold recipient.
"A number of organizations expanded their breast-feeding
support efforts, qualifying for a higher award than they
received in 2006," said Karen Cox, coordinator with the
Colorado Physical Activity and Nutrition Program and a
member of the Colorado Breast-feeding Task Force. The task
force is a volunteer organization, founded in 1990, made up
of physicians, public health and clinical nurses, public
health nutritionists, lactation consultants, lay counselors
and members of the business community. Cox said the awards
are based on responses to surveys the program distributes to
Colorado businesses and organizations. "We're increasing
efforts to distribute the surveys more widely in rural
areas," she said.
Organizations are recognized according to their level of
implementation of such measures as providing a specific
break room for use only by breast-feeding women; creating a
written company policy that allows breaks for pumping milk
or breast-feeding; communicating company breast-feeding
policy to all employees; and permitting part-time work, job
sharing, individualized scheduling of work hours, compressed
workweeks or telecommuting to accommodate breast-feeding
schedules.
This year's theme for World Breast-feeding Week,
"Breast-feeding: The 1st Hour," focuses on the importance of
initiating breast-feeding during the first hour after birth.
"Getting breast-feeding started in the first hour of life
increases the likelihood that breast-feeding will continue,"
said Jennifer Dellaport, breast-feeding promotion
coordinator for the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment's Women, Infants and Children Program and
chairperson of the Colorado Breast-feeding Task Force.
"Workplaces that accommodate working mothers who choose to
continue breast-feeding will help those moms avoid using
formula. And it is exclusive breastfeeding, meaning the
infant receives only breast milk, for the first six months
of life that has been shown to provide improved protection
against many diseases. Breast-feeding benefits the family
and the work place."
Because the practices and environments of hospitals are
so important in promoting breast-feeding during the first
hour, said Cox, the Colorado Physical Activity and Nutrition
Program is working with all 55 birthing centers in Colorado,
encouraging them to adopt model breast-feeding policies.
"Hospitals also are work sites," she said, noting that this
year's two gold winners are hospitals.
Cox said the program provides annual grants to
organizations wanting to build or expand upon a worksite
breast-feeding program. Information is available at
www.livewellcolorado.com. For more information on
breast-feeding, contact the following organizations:
Colorado Breast-feeding Task Force, 303-869-1888; La Leche
League, 303-779-6722; Women, Infants and Children Program,
303-692-2400; Family Healthline, 1-800-688-7777; Colorado
Physical Activity and Nutrition Program, 303-692-2441;
Mothers' Milk Bank, 303-869-1888; International Lactation
Consultant Association, www.ilca.org or 1-919-861-5577; and
National Breast-feeding Helpline, 1-800-994-9662. --30-- |
