Grand View Hospital has been recognized as a Keystone 10 center, indicating the hospital’s high level of support for breastfeeding families through the adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices. The announcement was made to staff as part of World Breastfeeding Week (Aug. 1 – 7, 2020).
Keystone 10 is a quality improvement breastfeeding initiative developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and administered by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Its goal is to improve the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding for all Pennsylvania infants, mothers and families. The Keystone 10 Initiative was developed as a means of improving individual facility- and state-level breastfeeding care and rates, and ultimately, improving the health of mothers and babies.
“This achievement represents a multi-year effort by Grand View Hospital to assure all aspects of our program meet the rigorous standards necessary for Keystone 10 designation” said Anna Sosnovsky, MD, Director of CHOP Newborn Care at Grand View Health.
“Our obstetric and pediatric providers and staff have dedicated themselves to implementing the 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding through small and large changes in the care we provide to families in the prepartum, intrapartum and postpartum settings,” she adds. “The Keystone 10 designation exemplifies the evidence-based, patient-focused care we strive to offer at Grand View Health.”
For more than 20 years, Grand View Health and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have partnered to maintain the CHOP Care Network at Grand View Health. In addition to caring for patients on the pediatric unit, our CHOP pediatricians work with physicians in the Department of Emergency Medicine, as well as with CHOP neonatologists in labor and delivery, and in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Keystone 10-designated facilities focus on breastfeeding initiation, exclusive breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact and rooming-in, among other elements. Keystone 10 is based on similar initiatives in other states that have shown success in assisting birthing facilities in the promotion of breastfeeding through establishment of breastfeeding policy, implementation of procedure improvements, and supporting families in making informed feeding decisions.
“The Keystone 10 designation was truly a team effort by obstetric and pediatric providers and nurses at Grand View Health,” said Jean Keeler, JD, President and CEO of Grand View Health. “It reflects the team’s commitment to giving families the information, confidence and skills necessary to successfully implement and continue breastfeeding their babies or safely feed with formula, ensuring a healthy start to their newborn’s lives, and we feel this is so important to families who trust Grand View for their maternity care.”
Multiple studies have shown the profound effect human milk has on babies, acting as both food and medicine. This is especially true for children who are cared for at Grand View Hospital. Grand View strives to teach mothers the importance of breastfeeding or pumping for babies born at the hospital.
Research shows that breastfed babies have fewer ear infections, respiratory infections, diarrhea, allergies and trips to the pediatrician.