QUEEN’S NORTH HAWAI‘I COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

CHEER is celebrating a CHAMPS National hospital this week: Queen’s North Hawai‘i Community Hospital in Kamuela, HI!

Queen’s North Hawai‘i Community Hospital enrolled in CHAMPS in May 2024 and is making impressive strides in improving maternity care and breastfeeding support. The team is grounded in evidence-based practice and committed to providing high-quality, equitable care to their diverse community.

“We value evidence-based practice and understand the importance of breastfeeding,” says Christy Lung, Nursing Manager. “We also have a diverse population here in Hawai‘i and want to make sure we are providing the best care to all the families we serve.”

Currently, the hospital is partnering with CHAMPS National to improve skin-to-skin rates, especially following cesarean births. “We do well with skin-to-skin after a vaginal birth and are working on making sure our documentation matches our practice,” shares Christy. “We recognize that we do not have process measures in place that help us perform skin-to-skin with the mother until first feed for those who have a C-section. So we are working on updating the workflow to make this happen consistently. This project is multidisciplinary, involving not only the labor and delivery nurses and physicians, but the surgical team too.”

Since enrolling in CHAMPS, the team has seen positive shifts in practice and collaboration. “I have noticed increased engagement in the nursing staff to help standardize practice,” Christy notes. “We have also made some changes in our EMR to help us capture data accurately and more efficiently. We’ve increased collaboration with the team in the outpatient clinic and Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, our community partner. As a team, we can reach mothers in all stages.”

CHAMPS would like to give special shout-outs to several team members at Queen’s North Hawai‘i for their outstanding contributions:

• Christy Lung – for her consistent organization and leadership in driving the CHAMPS initiative.

• Heather Yost – for her incredible passion for breastfeeding and strong patient advocacy.

• Amber McCarney – for her invaluable support of CHAMPS work and dedication, including staying late to cover for colleagues during CHAMPS trainings.

• Shenell Baker – for her commitment to developing prenatal breastfeeding education that is both engaging and memorable.

Congratulations to Queen’s North Hawai‘i Community Hospital—we’re proud to partner with such a passionate and hardworking team!