Peggy is so right! The administrator and her/his values makes a big
difference. When I first started working for WIC it was great. My direct
supervisor was very enthusiastic and wanted to help the mothers breastfeed.
Partly perhaps due to her own breastfeeding experience. It was her
determination that got the program for peer counselors in place. The
administrator above her, was also a fabulous woman who loved women and
children and was part of WIC from the beginning. She was a professional who
also had the passion of serving the needs of others. The nutritionist who
was in charge of breastfeeding before it had a title was also a fabulous
woman who was in the work for the love of people. The few years I was
blessed to work with these women changed my conception of WIC. There was
respect and compassion from administrator to clerk. They had created an
environment of family and concern among the employees and it transferred to
the clients we served. It was wonderful. However, the woman at the top
retired, and the new person did not have her passion for humanity, only for
numbers and details. Family concern was quickly discouraged and the
environment became distrustful and hostile which transferred to the care of
the clients which became a numbers game. Bodies in seats, numbers on a
chart, pushing things through and spending limited time actually solving
problems, just passing out pamphlets and giving the same spiel client after
client in as short a time as possible became expected and nothing else
tolerated. What was called breastfeeding support barely qualified as
'support' and what was called a feeding class was hardly 20 minutes of
instruction....and breastfeeding was to be squeezed in there.
I am indebted to WIC because of the opportunity I received and the education
they paid for as they sent me to conferences I could never have afforded on
my own. There were doors opened to me that otherwise may have never even
been noticed. I received such joy from my work, as well as stress and agony
and emotional draining. But as wonderful as those 5 years were, sometimes I
look at my twins and am so grateful they came along to save me from my work!
haha. I know there are still people working at the agency who are there
because they care about women and children. They hoped they would be able to
make a difference and are doing the best they can in the environment they
have to work with. I think WIC is like a hospital in that regard. There are
nurses who love their work, love what they do and genuinely care. Then there
are those that just want the shift over and to have their tasks
completed....sometimes they started out as the former, but the reality of the
institution sucked it out of them and they have nothing left to give. And,
just like a hospital, if you have supportive administration you can do great
things, and if not, well, the headache from beating those walls gets quite
intense sometimes.....
WIC is an interesting agency....it is like those corporations that appear on
the service to have the good of the people at the forefront, until you are in
it and realize it is all about the money, just at WIC it is a bit different
from what most think of in terms of sales and production. Just understanding
how the funding comes to WIC gives a better understanding of the reality the
agency works within. What makes the difference is always the people in
charge and those in the trenches.
Take care,
Pam MazzellaDiBosco, IBCLC one time WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator and Peer
Counselor Administrator when those things were new in my area of Florida....
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