6 / 8
PRECIOUS CARGO
USE YOUR
CHILD’S
SAFETY SEAT
CORRECTLY
SAFETY SEATS SAVE LIVES
—and no life is more
precious than your child’s.
Taking steps to make sure that your child is properly
restrained in vehicles can help prevent him or her from
being one of the thousands of children who die or are
injured each year in traffic accidents.
FOUR FOR SAFETY
Practice these key safety seat rec-
ommendations from the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA):
1
Infants should be secured in the back seat in rear-
facing child safety seats. They should travel that way until
they reach the height or weight limit of the particular
seat—at a minimum, until they’re 1 year old.
2
Toddlers should
ride in the back seat in forward-facing
child safety seats when they outgrow rear-facing seats.They
should use these seats until they reach the upper weight
or height limit of the seat (usually at about 4 years old).
3
Children who outgrow forward-facing seats should
ride in booster seats in the back seat. Kids should use
boosters until the vehicle seat belt fits properly—the lap
belt lies across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits
across the chest (usually between 8 and 12 years old).
4
Tweens who have outgrown their booster seats can
sit in the back seat and use adult seat belts if these fit
properly. Remember: All children younger than 13 should
ride in the back seat.
BE SURE: GET CHECKED
According to the NHTSA,
3 out of 4 kids are not as safe as they could be because
their car seats are not being used correctly.
Have your child’s safety seat inspected. Visit
www.safer
car.gov/parents
and click on “Inspection Station Loca-
tor” under “Explore” at the bottom of the page to find the
child safety seat inspection station nearest you. Or call our
hospital to find out when certified technicians are available
to provide free safety seat inspections.
OVER THE LAST YEAR,
Samaritan Healthcare has been
expanding our mother-baby care to include a new lacta-
tion service. With the short-term goal of implementing
breastfeeding-friendly practices and the long-term goal of
becoming designated as a Baby-Friendly Hospital, Cassan-
dra Perez, RN, PHN, CLC, was recruited from California
and hired in November 2014 as a lactation consultant.
Samaritan Hospital now offers inpatient lactation sup-
port for mothers and babies during the immediate post-
delivery period and the postpartum stay. Staff education
and training in breastfeeding support is ongoing, and we
are very proud that the Samaritan nurses are advocates
for immediate skin-to-skin contact between mother and
baby during the first hour following birth. The goal is to
work as a team in order to support mother and baby in
establishing a good foundation for breastfeeding success.
A HELPING HAND
Since January of this year, Perez has
been facilitating a breastfeeding support group every
Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon, on the fourth floor
of the hospital. The group is open to all pregnant and
breastfeeding women in the community, whether they
plan to or have given birth at Samaritan Hospital or
elsewhere. The group offers mother-to-mother peer
support and help from the lactation consultant
with breastfeeding questions and concerns.
We are pleased to report that the group
has been steadily growing and develop-
ing over the past seven months. And
we expect that it will continue to be
a beneficial resource for mothers in
our community.
One of the main projects for the
new lactation service has been setting
up a lactation office and breastfeed-
ing helpline. Mothers can call in with
breastfeeding problems and speak
to the lactation consultant or leave a
voice mail message.
In cooperation with Katie Bussard,
the Mother/Baby Unit Director, Perez is in
the process of implementing an outpatient
lactation clinic, where mothers
can be seen for a post-discharge
lactation appointment as needed.
THE BIG PICTURE
Furthermore,
Samaritan Hospital is a primary
partner with Grant County Health
District in working to restart
the Moses Lake Breastfeeding
Coalition, as a member of the
larger state organization, the Breastfeeding Coalition of
Washington. Perez is the Samaritan representative for
this community-based project.
Exciting recent events have included a Samaritan
lactation services booth at the WIC-sponsored (Women,
Infants, and Children) World Breastfeeding Week event at
Civic Center Park in Moses Lake on Aug. 7, and a breast-
feeding station at the Grant County Fair from Aug. 16 to
23—the first public event of the Moses Lake Breastfeed-
ing Coalition. It was sponsored by the Columbia Basin
Community Partnership for Health, of which Samaritan
Healthcare is an influential member.
LACTATION SERVICE OFFERS
SUPPORT TO MOM AND BABY
Do you need
lactation support
or advice? Call
the Breastfeeding
Helpline at 793-9753.
Cassandra Perez,
RN, PHN, CLC
6
F A L L 2 0 1 5
T H E
S A M A R I T A N