This week’s CHEER Champion of the Week is Bertha (“Bertie”) Brown (Northern Arapaho/Northern Cheyenne), part-time co-facilitator at the Dragonfly Project and Indigenous Researcher with the CWard Evaluation/Assessment Team. In the past, Bertie also worked for CHEER as the Onsite Consultant for

Congratulations to CHAMPS hospital Merit Health Woman’s Hospital in Flowood, Mississippi, for becoming Baby-Friendly designated on September 28, 2018! Merit Health Woman’s is part of Community Health Systems’ Merit Health hospital system (MHHS). Read More

Shellie Evans, AA, BS, CLC, is the WIC Breastfeeding Program Region 3 Coordinator, the Lead Facilitator for Circle of Moms Baby Café Cluster, and Secretary for the Mississippi Breastfeeding Coalition. She was nominated as CHEER Champion of the Week for her outstanding work to promote breastfeeding

​Congratulations to Briana Williams on the birth of her second daughter, Scarlett, and on her perseverance in pumping and breastfeeding despite a difficult birth and hospital experience! Despite early problems, Briana overcame all odds to feed Scarlett exclusive breast milk. Briana and her husband

Congratulations to Ochsner Medical Center - Kenner in Kenner, Louisiana for becoming Baby-Friendly designated on August 28, 2018! Ochsner Kenner was part of the first wave of the CHAMPS South program from 2014-2017. It is one of many hospitals in the New Orleans area that are now Baby-Friendly, a cu

​Congratulations to Ochsner Medical Center West Bank in Gretna, Louisiana, for becoming Baby-Friendly designated on September 6, 2018! Ochsner Medical Center West Bank was part of the first wave of the CHAMPS South program during 2014-2017. It is one of 4 Ochsner CHAMPS hospitals near New Orleans,

Congratulations to CHAMPS hospital Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi (BMH-NM) in Oxford, on becoming Baby-Friendly designated on August 23, 2018! Becoming Baby-Friendly designated is a huge accomplishment and the result of many years of hard work. BMH-NM joined CHAMPS in August 2015 and of

This week’s CHEER Champion of the Week is John Micka, RD, Nutritionist Senior for the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH). He has worked for MSDH for 19 years with both the WIC program and the PHRM (Perinatal High Risk Management) program. In recent years, his focus has been on WIC. He w

Congratulations to Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, Louisiana, for achieving Baby-Friendly designation on July 12, 2018! Touro was part of the first wave of the CHAMPS South program, during 2014-2017. It is a large, academic and private practice, level III obstetric facility with a level III NICU, an

This week’s CHEER Champion of the Week is Kate Mitchell, CNM, a Midwife at Indian Health Service’s Blackfeet Community Hospital (BCH) in Browning, Montana. She was nominated for the great work she is doing as a midwife and in improving substance use screening and referrals for the patients at BC