Winter Haven Hospital's Regency Center for Women and Infants

A New Parent’s Appreciation

All too often in today’s world, people spend an exorbitant amount of time criticizing and complaining when their expectations for service are not met, whether these expectations are realistic or not. Yet when the services provided not only meet but completely and definitively exceed all expectations, people rarely take the time to say thank you for a job exceptionally done. Knowing how important positive feedback is, we want to share with you and your leadership team the experience my wife and I recently had at the Regency Center for Women & Infants.

On the evening of March 19, 2011, my wife Charlotte was admitted to the Regency Center for the birth of our daughter, Delanie Jacqueline. From the time we arrived until the time we departed the parking lot on March 22, we were simply in awe of the professionalism and service-driven attitude of the staff we encountered. This being our first child, we- like most new parents- were only as prepared as one can be through reading and participating in classes centered around parenting and childbirth. Your staff, being experts in dealing with childbirth and parents, guided our new journey through every step. I find this particularly important because expert knowledge does not guarantee exceptional customer service. Your staff, however, has mastered both.

Your staff made our experience exceptional and gave us unquestionable confidence in your organization. We send our sincerest thanks to Winter Haven Hospital for your commitment to giving exceptional healthcare and exceptional customer service.

Warmest regards,
T. Michael Stavres
Director of Community Services
City of Winter Haven

Winter Haven's Regency Center Opens Lactation Supplies Shop Posted 06.14.11

By Robin Williams Adams
THE LEDGER

WINTER HAVEN | Regency Center for Women and Infants has opened a lactation supplies shop to increase the likelihood that new mothers will breast-feed their babies.

Nursing bras, milk storage bags, breast pumps and other items, including a stool to help breast-feeding mothers stay in proper position, are among the items available for purchase. Hospital-grade Medela electric breast pumps are available for rent, said Kathie Lambert, internationally certified lactation consultant at Regency.

While the supplies shop is fairly small, the goal it helps promote is huge: Encouraging new mothers to breast-feed their newborns exclusively, not supplementing with formula unless medically necessary, and to continue doing so when they leave Regency for home.

"We wanted to be as full service as we could be for our breast-feeding families," said Ann Hamilton, education director at Regency, which is part of Winter Haven Hospital.

Regency employees worked for, appropriately enough, about nine months to get the Lactation Center at the Regency up and running, Hamilton said.

Improving the percentages of mothers who both try breast-feeding and keep doing it is a national goal promoted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospitals nationwide are trying various ways of improving the breast-feeding success of women who deliver at their facilities. Regency, like other Polk hospitals with obstetrics programs, has lactation consultants available during the new mothers' time at the hospital and for consultation after they leave.

In another approach, Regency started a mandatory breast-feeding class for its nurses this year. That ensures they get consistent information on the importance of breast-feeding and appropriate interventions and tools to make it successful, Hamilton said.

Recent CDC data show three-fourths of new mothers in the United States now start out breast-feeding, meeting the Healthy People 2010 national objective for initiating breast-feeding.

Problems remain in getting mothers to keep breast-feeding or to breast-feed exclusively.

"Rates of breast-feeding at 6 (months) and 12 months, as well as rates of exclusive breast-feeding at 3 (months) and 6 months remain stagnant and low," according to the CDC.

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