The designation - awarded by the World Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) via Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. (BFUSA) – has been won by only two hospitals on Long Island.

1. For Immediate Release August 5, 2016
Contact: Damian Becker, Manager of Media Relations
(516) 377-5370
South Nassau Earns ‘Baby Friendly’ Designation
From World Health Organization
Photo Caption: Breastfeeding mothers and their babies are joined by South Nassau staff
members from several departments, including Labor and Delivery, Lactation Resource Center,
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Parent-Child Education,
Maternity and Administration.
Oceanside, N.Y. – South Nassau Communities Hospital has been named a ‘Baby Friendly’
hospital by the World Health Organization for its commitment to mothers and newborns and in
recognition of its effort to foster breastfeeding.
The designation - awarded by the World Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations
Children's Fund’s (UNICEF) via Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. (BFUSA) – has been won by only two
hospitals on Long Island.
The ‘Baby Friendly’ designation recognizes birth facilities that offer breastfeeding
mothers the information, confidence, and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue
breastfeeding their babies. The designation is for a period of five years during which time South
Nassau will establish and maintain a data tracking system to collect and maintain statistics that
will be reported annually and are related to the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.”
At a press briefing held today by South Nassau to celebrate and announce the designation,
a group of 10 Long Island moms and their children assembled for a “Big Latch On” to
commemorate the aware and to emphasize the importance of breastfeeding. Started in 2005 by
Women’s Health Action, “Big Latch On” takes place annually around the world during World
Breastfeeding Week, which began yesterday (Monday, August 1) and concludes Sunday, August
7.
“This designation is the latest in a series of recent recognitions by national organizations
that South Nassau is a place where quality matters and where patient care is paramount,” said
South Nassau’s President & CEO, Richard J. Murphy. “In addition to being a WHO ‘Baby
Friendly’ hospital, we recently won recognition from the American College of Surgeons as a
News From:

2. Trauma Center and have been approved for new surgical and OB/GYN residency programs by the
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). These are all signs of our
growing role as a regional medical center.
“I congratulate the staff of our Center for New Beginnings for their dedication to our
newborns and to our new mothers. The Baby Friendly designation is a significant accomplishment
that demonstrates our commitment to making certain that the newest members of the South
Nassau family get off to a good start in life.”
“This achievement is emblematic of our belief that providing our patients clear and
concise evidence-based health education and information is essential to providing high-quality,
compassionate healthcare services,” said Sue Penque, PhD, RN, CNP, chief nursing officer and
senior vice president of Patient Care Services at South Nassau.
“While the process to earn the designation was demanding and rigorous, the time and
effort that we put into it will translate to immeasurable returns as it relates to enhanced quality of
care mothers and their newborns receive and the resulting decrease in morbidity and mortality
associated with optimal breastfeeding,” added Clara Mayoral, MD, chair of pediatrics.
The “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding” were developed by a team of global experts
and consist of evidence-based practices that have been shown to increase breastfeeding initiation
and duration. Baby-Friendly hospitals and birthing facilities must adhere to the Ten Steps to
receive, and retain, the Baby-Friendly designation. The Ten Steps are:
1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health
care staff.
2. Train all health care staff in the skills necessary to implement this policy.
3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
5. Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they are
separated from their infants.
6. Give infants no food or drink other than breast-milk, unless medically indicated.
7. Practice rooming in - allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
9. Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.
10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to
them on discharge from the hospital or birth center.
BFUSA is the nonprofit national authority for WHO/UNICEF’s Baby-Friendly Hospital
Initiative. The initiative is predicated on the fact that breastfeeding is the normal way for human
infants to be nourished. Scientific evidence points to lower risks for certain diseases and
improved health outcomes for both mothers and babies who breastfeed. Breastfeeding is the

3. natural biological conclusion to pregnancy and an important mechanism for the continued normal
development of the infant. With the correct information and the right supports in place, under
normal circumstances, most women who choose to breastfeed are able to successfully achieve
their goal.
In addition to the “Baby-Friendly” Hospital designation, South Nassau’s Center for New
Beginnings is a recipient of the New York State Department of Health’s Perinatal Quality
Collaborative Obstetrical Improvement Quality Improvement Award and has a “five star” rating
for patient safety and quality care by an independent national hospital and healthcare ratings
organization. The rating is based on an in-depth evaluation of the quality of maternity and
gynecological care, over a three year period, in the 19 states, which includes New York, where
hospital patient outcomes data is publicly available.
Last year, the Center’s team of compassionate, experienced labor and delivery nurses,
obstetricians and high-risk pregnancy specialists delivered 2,051 babies. In addition to advanced
maternal-fetal medical technologies, the Center features 26 private family/newborn rooms with
first-class hotel like accommodations, spacious labor and delivery rooms, and a 6-bed neonatal
intensive care unit (NICU).
Premature deliveries and newborns with developmental complications or conditions
receive the specialized care they need in the neonatal intensive care unit. Staffed by board-
certified neonatologists, the unit is equipped with dedicated medical technologies for premature
newborns and newborns with special needs. For mothers needing a C-section delivery, the Center
has a dedicated state-of-the-art surgical suite to ensure that they experience a model of family-
centered care.
The center has been designed specifically for the family. Parents experience the entire
birth process in the comfort of the unit’s private labor and delivery suites and continue to learn
about and bond with their precious newborns in their spacious and private postpartum rooms.
Central to the unit’s Family-Centered philosophy is its 24-hour visitation policy, allowing
members of the family to celebrate and participate in this special event.
The accommodations and compassionate care are complemented by breakfasts, lunches
and dinners prepared by an award-winning culinary services department and a comprehensive
parent-child education program, which helps parents prepare for pregnancy, childbirth and
beyond.
The Lactation Resource Center, staffed with a team of International Board Certified
Lactation Consultants to assist and support the breastfeeding family, is an integral component of
the comprehensive program which also includes:
• Maternity Orientation and Tour
• Prepared Childbirth Class

4. • Preparation for Breastfeeding Class
• Breastfeeding and Working Class
• Baby Care Class
• Breastfeeding Support Group
• Prenatal Yoga
• Mommy-Baby Yoga
• Infant/Child CPR
• Sibling Class
• Teddy Bear Clinic
• Safe Sitter® Class
Designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC),
South Nassau® Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 455 beds,
more than 900 physicians and 3,500 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an
acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac,
oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services. In
addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau provides emergency and
elective angioplasty, and is the only hospital on Long Island with the Novalis Tx™ and Gamma
Knife® radiosurgery technologies. A Level II Trauma Center verified by the American College of
Surgeons, South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of
Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons, and
is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality
Improvement Program. In addition, the hospital has been awarded the Joint Commission’s gold
seal of approval as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures, including heart attack, heart
failure, pneumonia and surgical care; and disease-specific care for hip and joint replacement,
wound care and end-stage renal disease. For more information, visit www.southnassau.org.
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