Bronson’s Persistence Pays Off in Pursuit of Baby-Friendly Designation

“Third time’s a charm,” says Carol Fuller, RN, the System Director of Nursing for Women/Children’s Services at Bronson Methodist and Bronson Battle Creek Hospitals in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, Michigan.

She’s speaking about Bronson’s long journey to Baby-Friendly designation, which began in 2013, had two full stops, and finally culminated in both facilities being designated in April 2024.

“When we first started our pursuit of Baby-Friendly over 10 years ago, it was a different leadership, and different team members were involved,” reflects Fuller. “We thought it was a really good idea, but it became bigger than what we could handle at the time.”

Bronson’s leadership decided that, while they didn’t have the necessary resources in place to achieve designation, they would move the facilities in that direction by implementing rooming-in and improved lactation services. Then in 2018, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation gave them another nudge which put them back on the Baby-Friendly path.

“Their generous funding enabled us to get back on track,” says Fuller. “But then this crazy thing called COVID happened. Everything began to cost more and everybody’s resources were stretched. We realized it was just not possible for us to stay on the journey at that time. So, we decided to pause again.”

Then in 2022, the Kellogg Foundation offered one more nudge which empowered Bronson to give it another go, and which ultimately resulted in their success. The Foundation launched its QI-Tracs initiative, a collaborative designed to help Michigan hospitals reduce breastfeeding disparities by implementing the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative’s evidence-based maternity practices.

“One of our strategic initiatives was to improve equity across our system,” remembers Fuller. “When we found out about this collaborative, we knew we had to be part of it. So we said yes and we started down the journey again.”

“We were still working through COVID and were trying to find out what a new normal was,” recalls Kelly White, RN, Manager of Mother/Baby at Bronson Methodist. “This felt very daunting and overwhelming. It felt like during those two years of COVID, when we had hit pause, we had actually taken a couple of steps back.”

But the team was steadfast in its commitment.

“We basically said, okay, we’ve got to make a decision, yes or no,” says White. “If we’re going to make this impact, we just have to go for it. We have to stop making excuses. Let’s put the work in and get it done.”

White says one of the keys for her and her team was having a defined goal.

“Previously, it was just, well, we’re working on this and when it gets done, it gets done,” she says. “This time was different. We set a specific goal of having our Baby-Friendly designation by October 2023. We put it as our part of our leadership goals and our personal goals in our evaluations and held ourselves accountable for our progress.”

The celebrations began even before they received word of the official designation.

“The day we exceeded the 80% level on our patient interviews for two consecutive months, our community liaison who was conducting the interviews surprised me in my office with party horns and a mini confetti cannon,” says White. “It was quite a proud and fun moment.”

After they received word that they were formally designated, they convened leadership, staff and community partners for celebrations in both facilities (see photos below).

“It was a long journey, but nothing but pure excitement at the end,” says Cammy Fraaza, RN, Manager of NICU and Breastfeeding Center at Bronson Methodist.

“It was a lot of work for our staff and it wasn’t easy,” adds Tammy Strandberg, RN, Manager of LDRP and Breastfeeding Center at Bronson Battle Creek. “Now that it’s completed, I think they’re all happy that we’ve done it.”

“It was the right thing to do,” continues White. “Having the designation truly shows you’re commitment to providing the best evidence-based practice. Anybody can claim they’re doing ‘baby friendly,’ but the certification is what actually solidifies it and lets people know that you’re doing right by your moms and your babies.”

What’s more, the team’s conviction was reinforced as their exclusive breastfeeding rates, while experiencing significant variation from month-to-month, maintained an upward trend throughout the process (see chart to the right).

“One of the things we learned is that if you don’t audit your work, you can think you’re doing great, but that may not always be the case,” says Fuller. “We already wanted to be the best. Now we have the designation to prove we are.”