Irene McLendon, B.S. Ed, CLC, is the District 8 WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Health. She is doing a great job supporting her staff as WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator and offered invaluable input at a recent CHAMPS site visit at Merit Health Wesley in Hattiesburg, MS!

​​CHAMPS Hospital of the Week this week is Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi—the first hospital in Mississippi to become Baby-Friendly! The hospital was designated on December 30, 2015, and since then has been sharing support and advice with many more Mississippi hospitals n

Barbara (“Barb”) Pratt, RN, BSN, IBCLC is a member of the New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force, the Navajo Nation Breastfeeding Coalition, the South Dakota Breastfeeding Task Force, and the United States Lactation Consultant Association. She recently returned to South Dakota from New Mexico where

Cindy Greene, RN is Nurse Manager, CHAMPS Team Lead, and Chair of the Baby-Friendly Steering Committee at SEARHC, Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital in Sitka, Alaska. She is doing a great job leading her team in their Baby-Friendly journey! Mt. Edgecumbe is a tribal hospital serving mostly Tlingit tribal membe

Vicki Walters RN, BS is Director of Women's Services, NICU and Pediatrics, and CHAMPS Lactation Team Lead at CHAMPS hospital Merit Health Wesley in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She has 36 years of nursing experience. Previously, Vicki worked as Director of Women's and Children's Services at CHAMPS hosp

Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) in Anchorage, Alaska was the first hospital in Alaska to enroll in the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) CHAMPS program. Staff members at ANMC have been working towards Baby-Friendly designation for 10+ years but have faced challenges. Now they are ready to fo

The San Antonio Breastfeeding Coalition (SABC) is the central coordinating resource for breastfeeding support, advocacy and education in San Antonio, Texas. Their bilingual website is an excellent tool for families and professiona

Deanna Denise (“Dee”) Huerta, IBCLC, Certification of Nutrition, WCS, is the Breastfeeding Coordinator at Christus Health WIC in San Antonio, Texas. She has worked for Texas WIC for 9 years and for Christus Health WIC for 4. Christus Health WIC has 3 clinics in San Antonio, including one across

Laura María Gruber, IBCLC, RLC is a rising star in the breastfeeding field! Based out of San Antonio, Texas, Laura is a private practice IBCLC and the owner of Breastfeeding Housecalls, LLC. She is also involved i

Euphemia John, IBCLC, CLC and Twila Whitekiller, IBCLC, CLC help to run an outstanding lactation program at Cherokee Nation WIC! Euphemia, Lactation Coordinator, has worked there for 31 years, and Twila, Lactation Supervisor, has worked there for 11 years. Both women are members of the Cherokee trib