Our 30 plus NICU provides each mom with one universal kit at a charge of
about $80.  We caution the moms to take care of their kits as most
insurance companies will not pay for a second (if they pay for the first
one :-( ). Each mom is instructed to wash the kit after use with
germicidal soap and rinse very well.  We instruct them to "sterilize" the
kit daily either in boiling water or in the dishwasher.  But, as we are a
regional center for eight states, if a mom doesn't have access to either
of  these she is encouraged to be meticulous in cleaning after every use.
 Our unit has a sink with soap in every pump room.  These are only for
the moms use, not general nursery use.

We also recently updated our container policy.  After years of using
disposable bottle liners, we just changed (at considerable expense) to a
rigid breast milk container with lid.  The moms can pump directly into
the container and the milk can be thawed, fortified if needed, warmed in
this same container and if necessary (if mom not available/able to
breastfeed) even fed to the baby in the same container.  This, we hope,
will markedly decrease the contamination risk to the milk and to the
baby.  It has pushed our storage space to the limit.  The container is
returned to the mom after use for reuse after the same cleaning the kit
requires.  This change in procedure took MONTHS of research and many
meetings to attain. We considered the use of sterile specimen containers
but felt that with JAHCO becoming increasingly interested in lactation
issues that using something NOT designed to store food would eventually
backfire on us.

We have also changed how we label and check breastmilk before it can be
fed to the baby. Two people check the label with the patient band and
initial this check on the medical record.  This is in response to three
milk/baby mix-ups in the past yesr.

I hope this info helps those looking at their own policies.  I too
greatly enjoy the phenomenal resourse that lactnet is.  I often hesitate
to respond due to the vast number of other responses and because I am so
in awe of the incredibly articulate responses I read.  Thanks to all of
you and your sharing., and I will try to be more brave at responding, and
hopefully much more brief!!

Lorry Watkins,RN,IBCLC
Denver, CO  Where it felt like a warm spring day today !!
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