Franciscan Health Lafayette Announces Collaboration With The Milk Bank

Franciscan Health Lafayette is proud to announce a collaboration with The Milk Bank to increase access to safe human donor milk for infants in the hospital and after discharge.

The Milk Bank’s Donor Milk Express program has the unique ability to provide families with a readily available source of pasteurized donor milk. Franciscan Health now offers two locations for families to purchase up to 40 ounces of pasteurized donor human milk without a prescription. One is at Franciscan Health Center for Women & Children in Lafayette for patients who have delivered and are in the hospital. The other location at Franciscan Community Education is open to the public.

“This opportunity to be a milk distribution site is an excellent extension of our inpatient and outpatient lactation services,” said Jacinta Langley, RN, an international board-certified lactation consultant. “We are proud to collaborate with The Milk Bank on this project and help promote successful breastfeeding to our patients and our community.”

The Milk Bank – the only program of its kind in Indiana – receives milk from carefully screened, healthy donors and distributes it to babies in neonatal intensive care units or to families with infants who desire to supplement with human milk. Donor milk offers optimal nutrition, improved digestibility and added immunologic protection against infections.

“As a recognized leader and strong advocate for infant and maternal health, The Milk Bank and Franciscan Health are natural community partners,” said The Milk Bank’s executive director, Freedom Kolb. “By opening a donor milk express site, Franciscan Health is making a remarkable commitment to combatting infant mortality, supporting families in meeting their breastfeeding goals and providing critical wrap-around services to their patients. Providing access to safe donor milk at the exact moment of need, you will create a strong continuum of care for the most vulnerable infants and their families.”

“We are excited to have the opportunity to be able to provide families access to donor milk when it is most needed,” said Marcia Cherry, director of Center for Women & Children. “Breast milk is the gold standard for babies, but sometimes mothers are unable to provide their own breast milk for their baby. Having a Donor Milk Express in the hospital aligns with our commitment to the safe implementation of maternity care practices supportive of optimal infant nutrition.”

To learn more about the new Donor Milk Express program and related services, call Franciscan Community Education at (765) 449-5133 or The Milk Bank at (317) 536-1670.

About Franciscan Health

The Franciscan Alliance healthcare ministry began in Lafayette, Ind., in 1875. Today, Franciscan Alliance is one of the largest Catholic healthcare systems in the Midwest with 12 hospital campuses, more than 19,000 employees and a number of nationally recognized Centers of Health Care Excellence. Hospitals include: Franciscan Health Carmel; Franciscan Health Crawfordsville; Franciscan Health Crown Point; Franciscan Health Dyer; Franciscan Health Hammond; Franciscan Health Indianapolis; Franciscan Health Lafayette; Franciscan Health Michigan City; Franciscan Health Mooresville; Franciscan Health Munster; Franciscan Health Olympia Fields (IL); and Franciscan Health Rensselaer.