I have recently been appointed coordinator of our lactation dept.
(after being a staff LC for 9+ years).  I want to improve our program
and services.

We see Moms "for need" only.  That means 1)if a doc orders it  2)the
nurse orders it or 3)the Mom requests it.  All moms have a standing prn
order for a lact. consult.  We are a mid-sized community hospital, we
do about 150 births a month.  Our community has a very high
breastfeeding rate, About 95% of our Moms initiate breastfeeding in the
hospital.  We also see outpatients.  There is a charge for them (inpts
are charged also, but it's usually covered by ins, whereas outpts
aren't always covered).  We don't see a lot of outpts, and the ones
that come in tend to be "train wrecks" - they only come in if things
are really bad. On average we see 10 a month, and spend 1 to 1 1/2 hrs
with them.  For the most part we work them around our inpatients.

The pro of how we do things are - we get to spend as much time with a
couplet as they need to fix their problem or come up with a plan.  The
cons are not every Mom gets to see us, and I would love to at least
check in with every Mom.  But most days time just wouldn't allow it.
There are several LC's, but only one on each day.  We are also
responsible for pump rentals and a lactation warmline, staff
orientation and staff ed.  We staff Mon through Sat, 9am to 3pm.

I would love to hear from other LC's and hear how you do it at your
hospital, and what you like, don't like and would change if you could
start over.

Andrea Tran RN, IBCLC
Erie, CO
Employed at Boulder Community Foothills Hospital

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