April 18, 2018, Pompton Plains, NJ – Baby-Friendly USA announced that Atlantic Health System’s Chilton Medical Center, has received prestigious international recognition as a Baby-Friendly designated birth facility. With the inclusion of Chilton, all Atlantic Health System maternity centers are now designated by Baby-Friendly USA, the only health care system in the state to have all of its maternity centers certified. Of the 11 hospitals certified in New Jersey, four are Atlantic Heath System sites.
“This designation helps us support our patients,” said Fran Drigun, Executive Director, Women’s Service Line, Atlantic Health System. “Baby-Friendly is about helping mothers bond with and breastfeed their babies and about giving our team members the tools and resources they need to support breastfeeding moms. As a Trusted Network of Caring, it makes sense that all of our maternity centers are able to provide that consistent support.”
Chilton Medical Center’s maternity center has 20 beds as well as a four-bed Level II neonatal intensive care unit.
“I am extremely proud of our maternity center team,” said Stephanie Schwartz, President, Chilton Medical Center. “This designation shows that we are committed to providing the best care to our mothers and babies.” Schwartz also remarked on the collaboration across the system. “We learned so much about the certification process from other AHS maternity centers. Thank you to Morristown, Newton and Overlook for sharing your knowledge and experiences with us.”
Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. is the U.S. authority for the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (“BFHI”), a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. Based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, this prestigious international award recognizes birth facilities that offer breastfeeding mothers the information, confidence, and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies.
There are more than 20,000 designated Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers worldwide. Currently there are 483 active Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers in the United States. The “Baby-Friendly” designation is given after a rigorous on-site survey is completed. The award is maintained by continuing to practice the Ten Steps as demonstrated by quality processes.
Learn more about the U.S. Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative >
About Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative
The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is a global program that was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 1991 to encourage and recognize hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding and mother/baby bonding. It recognizes and awards birthing facilities who successfully implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. The BFHI assists hospitals in giving all mothers the information, confidence, and skills necessary to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies or feeding formula safely, and gives special recognition to hospitals that have done so.
About Atlantic Health System
Atlantic Health System, headquartered in Morristown, N.J., is an integrated health care delivery system powered by a workforce of over 16,000 team members and 4,796 affiliated physicians dedicated to building healthier communities. The system is comprised of over 400 sites of care, including six hospitals: Morristown Medical Center, Overlook Medical Center, Newton Medical Center, Chilton Medical Center, Hackettstown Medical Center and Goryeb Children’s Hospital.
It also includes Atlantic Alliance, a Clinically Integrated Network representing 2,500 health care providers throughout northern and central NJ. This network includes more than 900 physicians and providers within the Atlantic Medical Group, as well as members of the Atlantic Accountable Care Organization and Optimus Healthcare Partners which work to enhance patient care delivery.
Atlantic Health System also supports communities through Atlantic Rehabilitation and Atlantic Home Care and Hospice. Facilitating the connection between these services on both land and air is the transportation fleet of Atlantic Mobile Health. Atlantic Health System is a founding member of AllSpire Health Partners, a consortium of five leading health care organizations from the New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania region.