Director's Message

August 11, 2006

To: All DHS employees

From: Bruce Goldberg, Director

"If you done it, it ain't bragging." ~Walt Whitman

It's official, folks -- Oregon is the champion!

Last week I had the pleasure of attending an award ceremony at Doernbecher Children's Hospital hosted by the Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon, at which Oregon's Women, Infants and Children Program received the 2006 Breastfeeding Champion Award. The event was a celebration of 2006 World Breastfeeding Week and Oregon's Breastfeeding Awareness Month.

The award is well deserved, and I congratulate everyone whose hard work made it possible. To quote the announcement in the program, WIC was commended for "…their long-term, multi-faceted approach to breastfeeding, support, promotion and protection." The announcement also described WIC's efforts as "innovative" and "strategic," two words that make me particularly proud that DHS plays a key role in WIC's achievements.

And those achievements clearly deserve championship status -- thanks to the efforts of WIC, the Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon, and the hard work of numerous other individuals and organizations, Oregon has become the leading state in the nation for breastfeeding. Nearly 90 percent of all mothers in Oregon now breastfeed their infants for the first three months, and 26 percent continue breastfeeding their infants through the first six months.

This breastfeeding rate is made even more significant by the fact that a higher percentage of WIC mothers in Oregon than in any other state also breastfeed their babies, providing significant health benefits to those infants most in need of help getting a good start in life.

The approximately 350 people who make this possible work for DHS and at many local partner agencies throughout the state. They serve 40 percent of all babies born in Oregon.

Here are some of the key innovative and strategic approaches WIC has used to encourage breastfeeding:

• Oregon's program was among the first in the nation to use food funds to purchase breast pumps. The program has now distributed more than 25,000 pumps, which has increased the number of mothers able to continue breastfeeding when they return to work.
• WIC developed Oregon's Breastfeeding Mother Friendly Employer project, which encourages employers to support nursing mothers. Support includes providing a clean, private area in which to express milk, a cool place to store expressed milk, and a nearby sink for washing hands and equipment. Where possible, employers are encouraged to provide on-site child care so nursing mothers can return to work and remain near their children.
• WIC has partnered with the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and JOBS programs to help low-income mothers continue to breastfeed when they return to work or training.
• Every pregnant woman served by WIC is educated about the critical difference breastfeeding can mean to her child's health.
• WIC also collaborates with a range of partners to educate communities about the risks of not breastfeeding.

And the innovation continues -- Oregon has received a federal grant to research the effectiveness of peer counseling to help mothers be successful in breastfeeding.

I applaud the wonderful accomplishments of WIC, its partners and the dedicated efforts of the many individuals involved in developing a program that serves as a national model in helping build healthy communities. The energy, innovation, dedication and creativity that have made this possible are exactly the qualities that make DHS a leader in so many areas.

Thank you, and may your good work continue.

To provide feedback email: DHS.Directorsoffice@state.or.us

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This message is intended for all department employees. Please read it electronically, if possible. Managers and supervisors are asked to share the message each week with employees who do not have email access.