Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee Distributes First Order of Pasteurized Donor Breast Milk to Williamson Health
Published: December 9, 2024
The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Williamson Medical Center has received its first delivery of pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM) from Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee. PDHM is donated breast milk that has been screened, pooled, and tested so that it can be dispensed to medically fragile and vulnerable infants.
“This partnership will ensure a ready supply of donor milk for sick and vulnerable infants in our NICU, shortening the time it takes to receive critical milk supplies and improving outcomes for our smallest patients,” said Erica Phillips, Williamson Health Neonatal Service Line Coordinator. “Having access to donated breast milk will allow us to keep babies who need this support in our NICU, which also takes the burden of traveling outside of our community for the baby to receive care away from parents.”
Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit milk bank. The organization screens mothers prior to accepting their breast milk donations. Donor mothers deliver their breast milk frozen to one of over 20 collection sites across the state. Their donations are then delivered to the organization’s pasteurization facility in Murfreesboro, TN. There, the lab team filters, mixes, bottles, pasteurizes and cultures donated breast milk before distributing the donor milk to hospitals in Tennessee.
“We are thrilled to increase the access of safe, pasteurized donor human breast milk with our new partnership with Williamson Health,” said Susan Campbell, MD, IBCLC, and Executive Director of Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee.
The Williamson Medical Center NICU received the first batch of donor milk from Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee for Lily Hudson’s newborn son, Bo, who had been delivered early at 34 weeks. The new mom was elated that her baby was the first Williamson Medical Center patient to receive donor breast milk. Donated milk will now be on hand for any patients who need it.
“It’s amazing to know that my baby got the best nutrients he can get in the NICU when I couldn’t give it to him,” said Hudson.
“Having this donor milk in house is another way that we are living out our mission to provide more services for our patients close to home,” added Phillips. “This is something we’ve been working on as part of our continued commitment to elevating excellence in all that we do – from our tiniest of patients all the way up.”
Since opening on November 17, 2021, Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee has collected breast milk from more than 900 donors and dispensed over 700,000 feedings to Tennessee hospitals. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a milk donor, please visit milkbanktn.org.
ABOUT MOTHERS’ MILK BANK OF TENNESSEE | Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit milk bank dedicated to providing safe, pasteurized donor human milk to the most vulnerable babies. To learn more, please visit milkbanktn.org.
ABOUT WILLIAMSON HEALTH | Williamson Health is a regional healthcare system based in Williamson County, Tennessee, with more than 2,100 employees across more than 30 locations and more than 860 physicians and advanced care practitioners offering exceptional healthcare across 60-plus specialties and subspecialties close to home. The flagship hospital, Williamson Medical Center, now undergoing a historic $200 million expansion and renovation project, offers extensive women’s services, state-of-the-art cardiology services, advanced surgical technologies, an award-winning obstetrics and NICU, leading-edge orthopaedics, outpatient imaging services, and comprehensive emergency and inpatient services for both adult and pediatric patients. Other Williamson Health service providers include the Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee, The Turner-Dugas Breast Health Center, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital Vanderbilt at Williamson Medical Center, Williamson Health physician practices that are strategically located throughout the community, countywide Emergency Medical Services that include 18 rapid response units, Williamson Health Foundation, and multiple joint venture Vanderbilt Health and Williamson Medical Center Walk-In Clinics in Williamson County. Learn more about our many specialized services at www.WilliamsonHealth.org.
Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee Distributes First Order of Pasteurized Donor Breast Milk to Williamson Health
The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Williamson Medical Center has received its first delivery of pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM) from Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee. PDHM is donated breast milk that has been screened, pooled, and tested so that it can be dispensed to medically fragile and vulnerable infants.
“This partnership will ensure a ready supply of donor milk for sick and vulnerable infants in our NICU, shortening the time it takes to receive critical milk supplies and improving outcomes for our smallest patients,” said Erica Phillips, Williamson Health Neonatal Service Line Coordinator. “Having access to donated breast milk will allow us to keep babies who need this support in our NICU, which also takes the burden of traveling outside of our community for the baby to receive care away from parents.”
Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit milk bank. The organization screens mothers prior to accepting their breast milk donations. Donor mothers deliver their breast milk frozen to one of over 20 collection sites across the state. Their donations are then delivered to the organization’s pasteurization facility in Murfreesboro, TN. There, the lab team filters, mixes, bottles, pasteurizes and cultures donated breast milk before distributing the donor milk to hospitals in Tennessee.
“We are thrilled to increase the access of safe, pasteurized donor human breast milk with our new partnership with Williamson Health,” said Susan Campbell, MD, IBCLC, and Executive Director of Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee.
The Williamson Medical Center NICU received the first batch of donor milk from Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee for Lily Hudson’s newborn son, Bo, who had been delivered early at 34 weeks. The new mom was elated that her baby was the first Williamson Medical Center patient to receive donor breast milk. Donated milk will now be on hand for any patients who need it.
“It’s amazing to know that my baby got the best nutrients he can get in the NICU when I couldn’t give it to him,” said Hudson.
“Having this donor milk in house is another way that we are living out our mission to provide more services for our patients close to home,” added Phillips. “This is something we’ve been working on as part of our continued commitment to elevating excellence in all that we do – from our tiniest of patients all the way up.”
Since opening on November 17, 2021, Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee has collected breast milk from more than 900 donors and dispensed over 700,000 feedings to Tennessee hospitals. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a milk donor, please visit milkbanktn.org.
ABOUT MOTHERS’ MILK BANK OF TENNESSEE | Mothers’ Milk Bank of Tennessee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit milk bank dedicated to providing safe, pasteurized donor human milk to the most vulnerable babies. To learn more, please visit milkbanktn.org.
ABOUT WILLIAMSON HEALTH | Williamson Health is a regional healthcare system based in Williamson County, Tennessee, with more than 2,100 employees across more than 30 locations and more than 860 physicians and advanced care practitioners offering exceptional healthcare across 60-plus specialties and subspecialties close to home. The flagship hospital, Williamson Medical Center, now undergoing a historic $200 million expansion and renovation project, offers extensive women’s services, state-of-the-art cardiology services, advanced surgical technologies, an award-winning obstetrics and NICU, leading-edge orthopaedics, outpatient imaging services, and comprehensive emergency and inpatient services for both adult and pediatric patients. Other Williamson Health service providers include the Bone and Joint Institute of Tennessee, The Turner-Dugas Breast Health Center, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital Vanderbilt at Williamson Medical Center, Williamson Health physician practices that are strategically located throughout the community, countywide Emergency Medical Services that include 18 rapid response units, Williamson Health Foundation, and multiple joint venture Vanderbilt Health and Williamson Medical Center Walk-In Clinics in Williamson County. Learn more about our many specialized services at www.WilliamsonHealth.org.
Published: December 9, 2024
