TWO GIFTS IN ONE: OUR TRIBUTE CARD It’s a gorgeous image photographed by LaurieL Photography and printed on high-quality cardstock. Inside are the words: To the world you may be one person, to one person you may be the world... In celebration of family health and closeness, a generous donation has been made in your name to the Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon by __________________________. For each $10 donation to NMC, you will receive one card to mail to family, friends or co-workers. Perfect in lieu of a small gift exchange, or as a tribute to loved ones, this is a gift, not just a card, which also helps NMC serve low-income women in the community. There are two images and messages available this year: one with a holiday theme, and one that’s great for the holidays, Mother’s day, birth announcements or any time you would like to make a meaningful statement and better the world at the same time. To view the cards and place an order in time for the holidays, go to: www.nursingmotherscounsel.org BY MAIL Send your tax-exempt donation, along with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address, to: Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon c/o Treasurer 818 S.W. Third Ave., No. 372 Portland, OR 97204 ON THE WEB 1. Visit www.nursingmotherscounsel.org 2. Click any category on the home page: Support, Promote or Protect. 3. Then click “Make a donation” and give electronically via PayPal. “This is a substantial card. The LaurieL Photography, the quality of the print and the beautiful message inside made this something I was truly pleased to send as my holiday card. So many people contacted me to say how touched they were by the tribute.” WHILE YOU SHOP —Wendy Mitchell, MA CPC 3. Then click “Shop Amazon.” Every purchase you make will benefit NMC at no extra cost! When you access Amazon.com using the link on the NMC Web site, we receive a percentage of the Amazon sale. 1. www.nursingmotherscounsel.org 2. Click any category on the home page: Support, Promote or Protect. Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon 818 SW 3rd Ave. Suite 372 Portland, OR 97204 Last year’s launch of Nursing Mothers Counsel’s annual Tribute Card Fund-raiser touched the lives of many, while sharing the mission and ensuring the success of Nursing Mothers Counsel. HOW TO GIVE TO NMC NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORTLAND OR PERMIT 1504 ISSUE #3 November 2007 www.nursingmotherscounsel.org NURSING MOTHERS COUNSEL OF OREGON PSMYTHE TO DIRECT STATE BREASTFEEDING COALITION This fall marks a great round of transition for NMC. Breastfeeding Coalition of Oregon steering committee NMC Executive Director Amelia Psmythe began work Oct. 9 as the Director of the Breastfeeding Coalition of Oregon. This fall, when the coalition’s steering committee member Community Health Partnership emerged as a viable fiscal agent for the burgeoning coalition, they were eager to hire Amelia, who has spent the last three years building this statewide organization. As a result, Amelia, who has overseen a dramatic period of growth for NMC since taking the lead in 2003, expects to begin scaling back her executive director duties as the NMC board considers how best to structure the group’s changing leadership. NMC owes a huge debt of gratitude to Amelia. When she joined the counsel eight years ago, NMC gained a passionate and visionary leader. Her work helped expand the NMC mission to the three-pillared “Support, Promote and Protect” model for which it is known today. From budgeting, committee oversight and fund-raisers to support for lobbying efforts and work with media, Amelia has strived to have For free breastfeeding help or for more information visit www.nursingmotherscounsel.org in oregon call 503-282-3338 in sw washington call 360-750-0656 Garrett wins state volunteer award|2 Western Oregon co-chair Katherine Abdun-Nur, RN, IBCLC, Lactation Services, Three Rivers Community Hospitals, Grants Pass Eastern Oregon Co-chair Sherri Tobin, MS, RD, CLE, Deschutes County WIC and Coordinator of the Central Oregon Breastfeeding Coalition MaryLou Hennrich, Executive Director, Community Health Partnership Sheri McLoughlin, Development Chair, Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon Amelia Psmythe both the health benefits and the sweetness of breastfeeding become wellknown in our community. She orchestrated the launch of several new programs, including localizing the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign, forming the Portland Area Breastfeeding Coalition, and leading the research, training and networking processes needed to build the Breastfeeding Coalition of Oregon into a truly statewide organization. The momentum here in Oregon is inspiring and encouraging. NMC is particularly thrilled that Amelia has the opportunity to continue growing the coalition as BCO Director under the wing of Community Health Partnership: Oregon’s Public Health Institute. In addition to providing funding, office space and administrative support to the coalition, Community Health Partnership’s support will allow Amelia to easily collaborate with other community coalitions working in their office to Annual luncheon|3 Hospitals drop formula “bags”|4 Amelia Psmythe, Program Coordinator, Breastfeeding Coalition of Oregon reduce the risk of childhood obesity. It is a great opportunity to raise the visibility of breastfeeding as an imperative public health issue. Meanwhile, the NMC Board is assuming some of the executive director responsibilities as Amelia ramps up in her new job. The Board also is exploring the possibility of creating a Volunteer Coordinator position to assist with operations in the short term, while keeping the new Development Chair, Sheri McLoughlin, busy with grant applications to fund NMC staff. NMC has been fortunate to have Amelia at the helm for these many years and cannot thank her enough for her selfless service. We know that the state coalition and the families it serves will benefit from Amelia’s dynamic leadership. – Sheri McLoughlin, NMC board member Grants to help lowincome moms|5 A perfect gift: NMC tribute cards|6 NMC LOBBYIST WINS GOVERNOR’S VOLUNTEER AWARD Diane Garrett was the busy mother of a 2½-year-old when she first set foot in Oregon’s Capitol building. With no lobbying experience, Garrett had just signed up to be Nursing Mothers Counsel’s volunteer lobbyist. Nearly three years later, Garrett won the Oregon Governor’s Volunteer Award for outstanding adult for her groundbreaking lobbying efforts on behalf of breastfeeding mothers. It’s the top volunteer award in the state, and winners are chosen by Oregon Volunteers, State Commission for Voluntary Action and Service, a statewide panel appointed by the governor. Garrett’s efforts paid off, first with the 2005 passage of Senate Bill 618: Workplace Accommodation for Breastfeeding Mothers; and then with this year’s House Bill 2372: Return to Work and Breastfeeding. The most recent new law, which takes effect in January, requires large employers to provide women a guaranteed time and place to express breast milk for their babies. When Garrett signed on as lobbyist in 2004, her charge was to push for legislation ensuring that working mothers could express breast milk on the job. “She brought together an impressive and long list of stakeholders and partners from government, health care, organized labor and private industry to support working moms in their efforts to continue breastfeeding their babies,” the state commission said in announcing the winners. Garrett, of Portland, became im- —Sarah Hunsberger, NMC About 90 groups and individuals were nominated in seven categories. “This has been an empowering lesson for me in how the personal can be applied politically,” said Diane Garrett upon accepting her Governor’s Volunteer Award in Salem. mersed in a highly political fight that would stretch over two legislative sessions and bring countless return trips to Salem – many of them while she was pregnant with her second child. Q&A legislative update A CONVERSATION WITH DIANE GARRETT BREASTFEEDING LAW Q: A: What does the Governor’s Volunteer Award mean to you? When I joined NMC, I did not envision that providing mom-to-mom support would lead to advocacy work. So this has been an empowering lesson for me in how the personal can be applied politically. Just as I discovered how helping one person can lead to helping many, I hope other people will in turn be inspired to do what they can to embrace breastfeeding as a normal, accepted and beautiful part of life in Oregon. Q: A: What was your hardest day at the Capitol? Probably the hardest day was in 2005, when I struck a deal to strip that year’s bill of all mandate language. I had rushed down to Salem in a horrible rainstorm, 2 1/2-year-old in tow. After making sure I would have all the committee votes to pass what was left of the bill, I needed to update then-minority leader Rep. Jeff Merkley (my representative). One of his staffers escorted Page 2 me to the House Chamber lobby. I felt bedraggled and discouraged. To add to my misery, my daughter tripped headfirst over one of the velvet line ropes, and echoes of her distress were bouncing off the marble when Rep. Merkley came out to meet me. He was very kind, and I immediately felt he understood my experience and how degrading it had been. He simply said, “You did a good job.” The only reason I didn’t cry was that the lobbyist who was responsible for gutting the bill was standing there watching. Q: A: What personal sacrifices did you make to complete your lobbying work? Beyond the obvious commitment to work an unspecified number of hours without pay, and only with limited expense reimbursement, there was the unexpected result of giving up my personal privacy to become the “face” for the issue. And of course, I lost sleep, which seems to fit right in with being a mother! In Mother Words The state Bureau of Labor and Industries is crafting administrative rules to carry out the new Return to Work and Breastfeeding Bill. The 2007 Legislature’s nearly unanimous passage of the bill was largely due to the lobbying efforts of Nursing Mothers Counsel volunteer lobbyist Diane Garrett. Starting in January, the law will require that employers of 25 or more people allow unpaid time and a private location for an employee to express breast milk for her child. With the help of an advisory committee, the bureau is analyzing a number of questions about how the law will be carried out. For instance, how close does the designated “pumping” room need to be to the mother’s work area? The bureau plans to issue a draft of the proposed rules this fall and gather feedback. For updates, visit www. oregon.gov/BOLI/ and click on “New/ Proposed Rules.” November 2007 NMC RECEIVES PGE, KAISER GRANTS The money will provide professional in-home nursing help to moms who couldn’t otherwise afford it. Kaiser Permanente Northwest and the PGE Foundation each have awarded Nursing Mothers Counsel $1,000 grants to provide professional in-home lactation consultation to lowincome mothers. “We know that the best nutrition for babies is breastfeeding,” said Jim Gersbach, a spokesman for Kaiser. “We wanted to help as many mothers be successful at that as possible.” NURSING MOTHERS COUNSEL OF OREGON Board of directors Chanda Stone, co-president Lisa Stefanowicz, co-president Kelli Bottolfson-Brown, treasurer Krista Foxwell, secretary Sheri McLoughlin, member at-large Executive Director Amelia Psmythe Project Administrator and volunteer lobbyist Diane Garrett NMC Executive Director Amelia Psmythe (left) accepts a symbolic $1,000 check from Kaiser Permanente during an August ceremony at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center. “The program… reaches women who might not otherwise have access to this kind of support, and helps them be successful at nursing their infants. Because the NCMO charges no administrative fee, we knew our entire donation would go to helping as many deserving women as possible in our community get this help.” For several years, Nursing Mothers Counsel has contracted with Beyond Birth Home Lactation Services in Portland to provide professional home or office visits to low-income moms. Among those who qualify are women on the Oregon Health Plan, women enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children program, and those who have no health insurance. Beyond Birth’s certified lactation consultants charge a generously reduced rate for the visits – about 60 percent of their normal fee – and Nursing Mothers Counsel pays the bill, making the service available at no cost to mothers. The program serves 40 to 50 families per year, said Zenana Rose, a lactation consultant with Beyond Birth. The competitive grants will help NMC continue this service and also provide more adequate funding for equipment such as breast pumps and nursing bras, as well as for interpretive services for non-English-speaking women. helped me with latching techniques as well as distinguishing “Zenana productive feedings with nutritive sucks. I had three appointments to ensure (my daughter) was gaining weight. She also gave me emotional support to help me through this challenging time. I am so grateful to NMC for the financial assistance it has given. Without that support I am unsure if I would have sought out a lactation professional. Money was an obstacle. Thank you for your support! My baby and I are doing very well and she has been gaining plenty of weight. ” — Sarah, a mother who received help from lactation consultant Zenana Rose through NMC’s in-home lactation program, September 2007 Newsletter Sarah Hunsberger, editor Harmony Spangler, designer OUR MISSION Nursing Mothers Counsel of Oregon is a nonprofit group made up of volunteer mothers whose goal is to support, promote and protect breastfeeding. Our programs include free telephone help lines staffed by trained peer counselors; free introductory breastfeeding classes; Medela breast-pump sales and rentals; Free professional lactation services to women with no other access to care; and Legislative lobbying including the successful passage of a key 2007 breastfeeding bill. www.nursingmotherscounsel.org In Oregon: 503-282-3338 In SW Washington: 360-750-0656 UPCOMING EVENTS 14 november NMC business meeting 7-9 p.m. at Urban Grind 2214 N.E. Oregon St., Portland 1 december 6:30-9:30 p.m. NMC annual volunteer appreciation dinner Amelia Psmythe’s house RSVP by Nov. 26 to Chanda Stone, [email protected] 503-352-5552 Members only, please. Printing of “In Mother Words” generously provided by our community partner, Providence Health & Services November 2007 In Mother Words Page 5
© Copyright 2024