Lactation Consultant Layoffs

There have recently been a number of health care layoffs in the Philadelphia area - lactation consultants have been hit especially hard. Following is a letter from an IBCLC, explaining the situation and suggesting that people write letters to the decision-makers in our health system reminding them of the significance of lactation consultants in our hospitals. Addresses follow the letter.. 

Lactation consultants literally save lives as well as encourage current and future health within our communities. Thanks for your support! 

 

As you know, we are in difficult economic times, and health care has been hit along with everyone else. Two weeks ago, on October 6, Main Line Health System announced 105 layoffs throughout the four hospitals in the health system (Lankenau, Bryn Mawr, Paoli, and Riddle). Apparently the decision was made at the corporate level to lay off lactation consultants at all four hospitals; however, the president at Paoli identified that the lactation consultants were important to patient satisfaction and chose not to lay off those positions at Paoli, and the lactation consultant at Bryn Mawr effectively presented the need to keep a lactation consultant at Bryn Mawr. Unfortunately, the lactation consultants were laid off at both Riddle (Kay Hoover, IBCLC) and Lankenau (Michaela Kent, RN, IBCLC and Geraldine Wismer, RN). This means there are no lactation consultants on staff at either Riddle or Lankenau to help mothers and babies at the hospital; it also means that the mother's group that met at Lankenau every Monday and was run by Mickey Kent has been discontinued.

 

I'm sharing this news with you for two reasons: to be aware if you (or anyone you know) is expecting a baby and delivering at one of the affected hospitals that there will be no lactation consultant there to help you; and to encourage you to share your concern about this decision with the top decision-makers at the health system and the hospitals.

 

If you delivered at either Lankenau or Riddle, and received help from the lactation consultants there, write about your personal experiences. If you delivered at Bryn Mawr or Paoli, and received help from the lactation consultants at those hospitals, you might also wish to write. You might address your letters to the appropriate hospital president, and copy the president and CEO of Main Line Health. The contact information is below.

 

Also, some of you know that I also worked as a part-time lactation consultant at Paoli Hospital. I had resigned just prior to the layoffs to be able to focus on my private practice; I didn't know about the layoffs before I resigned, and I now feel free to encourage you to write as I am no longer an employee of Main Line Health.

 

I appreciate your support of lactation professionals!

 

Warmly,

Lisa
------
Lisa Mandell, MBA, IBCLC
www.best4both.com

=============

 

John J. Lynch III
President and CEO, Main Line Health
Bryn Mawr Hospital
130 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue
Bryn Mawr, PA  19010

 

Phillip D. Robinson
Interim President
Lankenau Hospital
100 Lancaster Avenue
Wynnewood, PA  19096

 

Gary L. Perecko
President
Riddle Hospital
1068 West Baltimore Pike
Media, PA  19063

 

If you also want to contact Paoli and Bryn Mawr to thank them for keeping lactation consultants on staff and emphasize the importance of doing so, here are those contacts:

 

Barbara Tachovsky
President
Paoli Hospital
255 W. Lancaster Avenue
Paoli, PA  19301

 

Andrea Gilbert
President
Bryn Mawr Hospital
130 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue
Bryn Mawr, PA  19010

I am a doula!

Last night was a lovely night so Dan and I sat in our backyard for a while - a fire in the chimenea and leaves falling all around us. As we chatted, we fell on to the topic of my future as a doula. I can't say that I have ever been more excited about a "profession" before. I clearly remember adoring my life as a teacher in South Africa. I was struck by how much I could actually look forward to my work, by how much I could enjoy it on a daily basis - so much so that I asked a good friend of mine to never let me return to a job that didn't suit me, that felt mundane and dry to me. Although I have had a few dry spells since then, I am now in a place of satisfaction. As a doula, I feel excitement. I feel lucky. I look forward to each birth for its unique thrill. Having the opportunity to watch new families blossom during the first few months postpartum is also rather special, an intriguing event that most people do not have the pleasure of taking part in. Each person changes, grows, and figures out how things fit. I am happy to assist them as they emerge.