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Team Award
Lactation Team
Family Medicine
Back: Brenda Cook,
Kelly Murphy,
Susan Thompson,
Peggy Willman
Front: Tina Anliker,
Christa Phelps
Not pictured:
Kristin Dishman
THE Southcentral Foundation (SCF) Lactation Support Team is proudly nominated for the Living our Values
Award for their quality contributions to the support of breastfeeding families at the Anchorage Native Primary
Care Center.
THIS story is about a team of registered nurses (RNs) who voluntarily obtained over 40 hours of training in
lactation consultation in order to provide specialized support for customer/owners. The team includes Tina
Anliker, Kelly Murphy, Christa Phelps, Susan Thompson, Kristin Dishman, Peggy Willman and Brenda Cook.
These nurses put a structure in place to help with early assessment and appropriate management of breastfeeding,
which is crucial to the success of the breastfeeding mother-infant dyad.
THE nurses’ organizational skills, and willingness to invest countless hours of work above and beyond their
normal duty hours, have helped ensure the success of this important endeavor. They serve as the lactation
educators for customers in all of the primary care clinics. As a group they plan who will carry a telephone
dedicated to “lactation call,” and they drop what they are doing as case managers to immediately respond. The
calls may come in from providers or from customers.
ONE lactation educator was called to the pediatric clinic to see a 6-day old infant who had lost 11 percentof his body weight aft er returning home from the hospital. The pediatrician wanted to supplement the infant
with formula because he was concerned about the risks associated with newborn weight loss, including dehydration.
A ft er talking to the parents and discussing their goals for feeding their baby, the lactation educator
showed the fi rst-time mom how to improve her latch and advised her to nurse every one to two hours. She
also showed her how to use a supplemental nursing system to give the baby extra pumped breast milk or formula
to boost his weight. The next day, the baby returned to the clinic for a weight check. The baby went from
8lbs 11oz to 9lbs 1oz overnight, and his mom reported that she did not supplement at all because nursing was
going so well. She said she wants to breastfeed as long as possible and now she feels con fi dent that she can.
ANOTHER fi rst-time mom was assisted by several members of the lactation team over a 6-week period. Shewas also experiencing problems with latch, causing her pain and frustration. Aft er working with one of the
lactation educators in the SCF Family Medicine Clinic, her latch improved and the pain was resolved. A few
weeks later, she came back into the clinic complaining of more pain with breastfeeding, but this time it was different.
The lactation educator recognized this as an infection. The mom was relieved to know what was causing
the pain and what could be done about it. The customer’s provider depended on the guidelines and recommendations
from the lactation educator, including a handout on how to clean the environment to protect from
re-infection. The customer was frustrated and anxious due to the breastfeeding issues and the usual lack of
sleep that comes with being a new mother. She called the lactation educator frequently for encouragement and
advice, and then went on to successfully breastfeed for over 15 months and is still going strong. She states, “I
knew I could call the lactation educator with any questions I had, no matt er how small. She helped me to keep
going through the hard times when I wanted to give up. I am so glad she was there for me and my baby.”
THERE are numerous other stories like these, including stories about mothers learning from lactation educators
that what is happening is normal, improving their overall con fi dence in their abilities to breastfeed. And,
there are stories about exhausted mothers thinking about giving up breastfeeding altogether, but then aft er
consultation with the team, experiencing the joy of nursing their infant. The nurses provide excellent care during
the period of time when the customer is most vulnerable as a new mother. They are willing to take on the
extra work and time because of their dedication to the health and well-being of our mothers and babies.
THE SCF Lactation Support Team sees breastfeeding as an issue of overall health. National Institutes of
Health studies show that breastfeeding lowers the risk of an infant becoming overweight and possibly developing
diabetes in later life, as well as decreasing the risk of upper respiratory infections, asthma and ear
infections. Breastfeeding has also been shown to decrease a mother’s risk of developing some cancers, osteoporosis
and diabetes. The team meets monthly to discuss diffi cult cases, identify sustaining resources and discuss
recent research.
FROM August 2007 to May 2008, the team donated 113 documented hours of time and helped over 400
customers. Additionally, the Indian Health Service recognized our lactation support program as best practice
and now provides the program’s contact information on their Web site as a resource for other clinics. Most
importantly, because of the team’s selfless dedication and invaluable expertise, the customers at Southcentral
Foundation receive be tt er care.
“This team of registered nurses voluntarily obtained
over 40 hours of training in lactation consultation
in order to provide specialized support for
customer/owners. From August 2007 to May 2008,
the team donated 113 documented hours of time
and helped over 400 customers. Additionally, the
Indian Health Service recognized our lactation support
program as best practice.”
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Alaskan born violinist, Audrey Solomon, started her violin studies with her mother, Beverly Beheim and later also studied with pianist Svetlana Velichtko. While still in high school, she studied with David and Linda Cerone at the Cleveland Institute of Music and continued there through her undergraduate work. Later, she received a Masters and a Graduate Certificate at the University of Southern California while studying with Robert Lipsett, and participating in USC’s Protégé Program with her trio, The Blue Rose Trio.
She has been a guest chamber and solo performer at the Sitka Festival, the Anchorage Festival, the Fairbanks Festival, the Chautauqua Festival in New York, the St. Albert’s Chamber Music Festival in Hawaii, the Western Slope Chamber Series in Colorado, the International Cello Encounters in Rio De Janeiro Brazil, as well as the Rencontres Franco-Américaines De Musique De Chamber in Missillac, France.
Ms. Solomon was titled “Miss Alaska 2000” and was the recipient of the Bert Parks Talent Award at “Miss America 2000”, as well as a two time Alaska State Fiddling Champion. She spent her year speaking and performing at schools promoting music education in the public school system with her platform “Outreach through Music”. In collaboration with her mother, violinist, Beverly Beheim, she has launched a summer program called “Chamber Music Intensive” in Anchorage.
In addition to working with the Blue Rose Trio, Ms. Solomon is a member of the Pasadena Symphony, and is busy freelancing, teaching, and recording in the Motion Picture studios in Los Angeles. Ms. Solomon has performed live with pop artists such as Britney Spears on “Saturday Night Live”, “The Tonight Show”, and Chicago’s Peter Cetera. Her recent studio credits includes recording for artists such as Kanye West, Christina Aguilera, Mary J Blige, Mandy Moore, Bryan McKnight, Rod Stewart, and Barry Manilow. Recent major motion picture films she recorded for are “A Night in a Museum”, “Next”, “Spider Man 3”, and “Beowulf”. She also performs with the group “Feast” in Colorado, which features her as a soloist, chamber musician, and fiddler.
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| Blair Chenoweth and Levi Robinson |
Blain Chenoweth
And Levi Robinson
Anchorage residents Blair Chenoweth and Levi Robinson became engaged Feb 19 and are planning their wedding June 21, 2009 in Girdwood. Levi popped the question while visiting Blair in Oklahoma City. She was performing with the national tour of the Broadway musical “Movin Out.” After her performance, they went to their hotel room, where Levi had Blair’s favorite flowers and their favorite song playing. He got on one knee and asked for her hand in marriage.
They met in high school and officially started dating in 2001. They have a Yorkie, Buster Brown.
Blair is the daughter of Lane and Janie Chenoweth. She graduated from Dimond High School in 2000 and the University of Oklahoma in 2003 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ballet performance. Blair works as a professional dancer and when in Anchorage teaches at Alaska Dance Theatre. Blair was Miss Alaska 2003 and Miss Alaska USA 2007.
Levi is the son of Judd and Cheryl Robinson of Anchorage. He graduated from Service High School in 1998 and from Texas Christian University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance. Levi was drafted by the Orioles in 2002 and works as a financial adviser at UBS.
Best Wishes to Blair and Levi!
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