Fort HealthCare was recently surveyed to be a Baby Friendly facility. The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative is a global program that was launched by the World Health Organization and UNICEF in 1991 to encourage and recognize hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding and mother-and-baby bonding.
The initiative outlines very specific guidelines that hospitals must follow to maintain this accreditation, many of which have always been routine for Fort HealthCare. Here, you will find an encouraging and caring environment where you and your baby are the center of our care, and breastfeeding is encouraged to take place whenever necessary. All of our staff that care for mothers and infants are specially-trained in breastfeeding and lactation management
We are the 369th hospital in the United States to achieve this, and the 10th hospital in Wisconsin. All other Wisconsin birthing units are significantly larger than ours with the exception of Richland Center – who became designated in 2011 under different criteria.
We are very happy to be the 10th alongside these other birthing centers in Wisconsin:
- Aurora (Lakeland)
- Gunderson Health System (La Crosse)
- Sacred Heart (Eau Claire)
- St. Vincent Hospital (Green Bay)
- Mayo Clinic-Franciscan Healthcare (La Crosse)
- Richland Hospital (Richland Center)
- UnityPoint Health-Meriter (Madison)
- Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Elmbrook Memorial (Brookfield)
- Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-St. Francis (Milwaukee)