White Plains Hospital One of Only Three Hospitals in the Lower Hudson Valley and Southern Connecticut Regions to Achieve This Prestigious Designation
White Plains, N.Y. (January 20, 2022) – White Plains Hospital announced today that it has earned the International Baby-Friendly® designation from Baby-Friendly USA for achieving some of the highest standards of care for breastfeeding mothers and babies. The program, which is administered by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, supports hospitals in giving mothers information, confidence, and the skills necessary to successfully breast feed in the first days of a newborn’s life. White Plains Hospital is one of only three hospitals in the lower Hudson Valley and southern Connecticut to achieve the important designation.
Today’s announcement comes on the heels of a new study appearing in the January 2022 edition of Lancet Regional Health - Americas that found a 26% reduction in U.S. infant deaths among children who were breast fed.
“We are proud to have earned the Baby-Friendly® designation as it underscores our commitment to providing the safest, most-comfortable, and most-comprehensive maternity program in the New York region,” said White Plains Hospital Lactation Consultant Ann Cunillera.
It’s been a busy year for births at White Plains Hospital. In 2021, over 2,025 babies were delivered including 27 sets of twins. Over 90% of new mothers that give birth at White Plains Hospital initiate breastfeeding during their hospitalization. The Hospital pivoted during the pandemic to provide virtual lactation services for pregnant and postpartum moms to provide education and support.
“Having a baby is one of life’s most precious moments and one that requires so much support. Receiving the Baby-Friendly® designation is another important step to ensure that every child born at White Plains Hospital will get the best possible start through prenatal education, skin-to-skin practices, and lactation support,” added Cunillera.
About White Plains Hospital
White Plains Hospital is a proud member of the Montefiore Health System, serving as its tertiary hub of advanced care in the Hudson Valley. The Hospital is a 292-bed not-for-profit healthcare organization with the primary mission of providing exceptional acute and preventive medical care to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. Centers of Excellence include the Center for Cancer Care, The William & Sylvia Silberstein Neonatal & Maternity Center and The Ruth and Jerome A. Siegel Stroke Center. The Hospital’s Flanzer Emergency Department is the busiest in Westchester County, with more than 64,000 patient visits a year. White Plains Hospital performs lifesaving emergency and elective angioplasty in its Joan and Alan Herfort, MD, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Marie Promuto Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. White Plains Hospital has outpatient medical facilities across Westchester, including multispecialty practices in Armonk, New Rochelle, Somers and Yorktown Heights; and Scarsdale Medical Group locations in Harrison and Scarsdale.
The Hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission and earned its recognition as a Top Performer for Key Quality Measures® in 2015 and 2013. The Hospital received Magnet® designation in 2012, 2016 and 2021 from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The Hospital earned a three-year accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC), one of 16 hospitals in the nation, and the Hospital's Bariatric Surgical Center is accredited as a Comprehensive Center under the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP). White Plains Hospital has also received full accreditation for its breast cancer program from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) and The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) recognized White Plains Hospital as a top 10% performing hospital for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2019. In 2021, White Plains Hospital received the Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades® for the sixth time and was the only Hospital in Westchester to be awarded with an “A” Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group for the 6th consecutive time.
https://www.wphospital.org/about/affiliations-accreditations-awards
About Baby-Friendly USA
As the accrediting body and national authority for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in the United States, Baby-Friendly USA is responsible for upholding the highest standards in infant feeding care by coordinating and conducting all activities necessary to confer the prestigious Baby-Friendly designation and ensure the widespread adoption of the BFHI in the US. Learn more about Baby-Friendly USA and the BFHI at www.babyfriendlyusa.org.