Marsha's experiences are sadly not rare. It's amazing how hard life makes
it for us all to just do our jobs.  Marsha's job is to provide current up
to date management, support and information regarding breastfeeding and
following national healthcare recommendations in regards to infant
nutrition. The Med. Directors job is patient management and overseeing unit
policies/management and clinical management in accordance with health care
standards. The managers jobs are to oversee hospital policies/management.
The Vendors jobs are to promote use of their specific product- reqardless
of the enviroment at each specific hospital, they just are required to move
their product.
  While Marsha admits she maybe needed to respond to the Medical Director
in a calmer manner, sounds like he and the vendor were also less than
professional. So is everyone going to apologize and have to work on ways to
make this better for everyone or is just Marsha given this homework? My bet
is that Marsha will be the only one given this homework.
 I just find it amazing that vendors- who have nothing to do with patient
care,don't work for that facility and only owe loyalty to their own company
are given such free reign in our hospitals. It's like a salesman coming to
your door and saying you can't own your jeep- you have to own a volvo
because thats what he sells.
 Thanks to LACTNET- when I heard about the gall of one formula company
coming into hospitals and pulling their old product and replacing with a
new one (with additives that are still under research) and the fact they
did this WITHOUT prior approval of dietary,purchasing , management or the
physicians permission I was so appalled I went straight to our medical
team. Trying to be professional, I submitted the formula
companies "research" on these products and then all the other research out
there that doesn't support the formulas claims at this time. I asked all
our Drs to please review this fully and then we met for a discussion. I'm
not saying that the additives are bad- who knows yet? I just asked the Drs.
if after reading ALL the information out there, were they comfortable being
told that they had no choice but to use this product on every NICU infant
or newborn within our facility. Repeating what the rep told me, I told the
Drs. that this company had decided that physicians that wished to use their
product- especially in the NICU, would have to use the one with additives
since the rep stated that all their market line of preterm formulas would
all carry the additives and they were discontinuing their availabilty of
the older product line. In essence, physicians were being given NO RIGHT
to  use their medical judgement and decide whether or not this type of
feeding was appropriate for their patients. Instead, this company had
decided that if a physician wanted to use their product, the comapny would
decide on what the product was. Thankfully, my doctors were just as
insulted as I was by this marketing blackmail and our rep for that company
was told that if they could not supply formula without the additives also,
then we would quit using their product entirely.
 One small sucess- if formula has to be used here- at least the type of
formula remains under the direction of the medical care provider- not the
formula company. Thanks to you all, we were able to avoid being told how to
provide care by salesmen.
My father says stupid people are taking over the world- somedays this seems
pretty realistic...
Lisa J RN CLE IBCLC

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