North Arkansas Regional Medical Center (NARMC) is proud to announce that it has received prestigious international recognition as a Baby-Friendly Designated birth facility.
“NARMC is proud to be one of three baby-friendly facilities in the state,” Sammie Cribbs, VP and Chief Nursing Officer, said. “Our goal is to provide high quality care for our community and this designation proves that we do just that.”
Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. is the U.S. authority for implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization and the United Nation’s Children’s Fund.
According to Baby-Friendly USA, the initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. The designation is based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and recognizes birth facilities that offer breastfeeding mothers the information and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding.
“We have been working toward this goal for over two years,” Dawn Brown, Labor and Delivery Nurse Manager, said. “To receive this designation is an honor. The work we do to improve outcomes for moms and babies is paramount to our mission here at NARMC. The work that physicians and our staff did to prepare for this was critical to our success and we cannot thank them enough.”
Out of the more than 20,000 Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers worldwide, there are 478 in the United States. NARMC received the designation after a rigorous on-site survey was completed. The award is maintained by continuing to practice the
Ten Steps including having a written breastfeeding policy, helping mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth and hosting The Lactation Club (TLC), a breastfeeding support group once a month. NARMC also practices rooming in where the mother and baby remain together 24 hours a day.
Located in Harrison, Arkansas, NARMC is a 176-bed hospital and medical system with a team of 800 dedicated healthcare professionals. The medical center is committed to providing the best in care, close to home for residents of Boone, Marion, Newton, Searcy and Carroll counties. One of the Top 100 rural hospitals according to The Rural Health Policy Institute, NARMC has numerous 5-star ratings from Healthgrade and scores in the 98th percentile for patient satisfaction in the Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Ratings.