Date of Award
4-2020
Degree Name
Nursing (D.N.P.)
Department
College of Nursing
First Advisor
Kimberly Lohr, DNP, RN, NNP, PPCNP-BC
Second Advisor
Kelli Damstra, DNP, RN
Third Advisor
Kristin Vanderwell, DNP, RN, CPNP-PC
Abstract
Background: Breast milk is known to be the best nutrition for infants, and experts recommend to exclusively breastfeed through the first six months of life and provide breastmilk through at least the first year of a child’s life (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012). The United States is currently not achieving its breastfeeding goals set out in Healthy People 2020 by the US Department of Health and Human Services (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). The integration of Internationally Board-Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) into primary care pediatrics offices has been shown to increase all breastfeeding rates (Witt, Smith, Mason, & Flocke, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to describe how the DNP student developed a business plan for the employment of a lactation counselor in a primary care pediatric office in West Michigan.
Objectives: To introduce the role of lactation support in the primary care setting. This will be done by creating a business plan for the employment of an IBCLC in a primary care pediatric office and to develop a policy for outpatient lactation support for the organization.
Methods: The lactation counselor will be integrated into a pediatric office which is part of a larger health care organization, in the midwestern United States. Breastfeeding mothers that are seen in the office were asked to participate in a pre-intervention survey about lactation support. Lewin’s Change Management Model is used to guide the project.
Results: The pre-intervention survey was completed and a business plan for the organization has been produced.
Conclusions: Preliminary data has been collected and has been used for the creation of a business plan for the healthcare organization.
ScholarWorks Citation
Minnema, Charlotte, "Developing Lactation Support in a Primary Care Pediatric Office" (2020). Doctoral Projects. 113.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/kcon_doctoralprojects/113
