Hello,
I work as a WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor in a public health department.
 The peer counselor relationship is incredibly valuable and a huge help to
our moms.  Being able to follow someone through their pregnancy and beyond,
and having someone they can call with questions or to get help has
literally saved breastfeeding relationships that otherwise would have
ended.  However, the role of the peer counselor is supposed to be one of
support, encouragement, and referral when there are problems.  But we have
no one else to refer them to.  Our clients have very limited access to an
IBCLC after leaving the hospital.  I would estimate that at least 80% of
the clients I see need a home visit from an LC.  While the peer counselor
role is so valuable, and I would never want to take that important job
away, it is not enough.  I see a need for both services, both valuable but
very different.  So I am trying to write a grant to employ LCs in our
health department to be able to do home visits, and also do more community
outreach and education.  If anyone has any experience doing this, or if you
have ideas on how this would be set up, I would love to brainstorm with a
few folks.  I would be happy to have you email me privately, or discuss it
here.

Some questions that I have:
--If we were to do a warm line from something like 9 to 9, how do you set
that up?  Like, if you have a few people, do you just take turns being on
call to check the messages throughout the day?  How do you pay the person
for in essence being on call that day?

--If you have more than one person, how do you handle caseloads, following
up, knowing who needs to be seen or called when, etc?  Right now, the way
we operate is that everyone has their own caseload, and you know when your
moms are due, and you follow them all the time.  And if one of your own
clients calls you and needs help on a day that you are out of town or not
available, you have to refer them to one of the other peer counselors, who
may or may not be able to help that day, but I essentially feel like I am
on call ALL the time.  And I am really burned out from it.  There must be a
better way!

--Do you think we need some kind of administrative person to basically
handle answering calls, figuring out who needs a visit and when,
scheduling, faxing, that kind of stuff, or do you think we could just take
turns answering calls?  Again that is kind of the question of, do we each
have our own caseload or do we have someone on call each day, and how do
you set that up, etc.

I would love any discussion, ideas, encouragement, or opinions you might
have.  Thank you for your time.

Sonya Shaver, BS, CHES, IBCLC

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