March Vital Signs Posted on March 27, 2017 by Dakota PikeThe March Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home newsletter Vital Signs is now available here!March 2017 Vital Signs
Sew Busy Quilt Guild recognizes Littauer baby Posted on March 20, 2017 by Dakota PikeGloversville Sew Busy Quilt Guild quilters Joanne Gasner, left, and Nancy Frank hold up a quilt they presented to Littauer newborn Asher Killian Betters, together with his mother Jackie Betters. The hand-crafted quilt was specially made for National Quilting DayGLOVERSVILLE, NEW YORK (March 20, 2017) – In honor of National Quilting Day, the Gloversville Sew Busy Quilt Guild recognized Littauer’s Birthing Center newborn Asher Killian Betters with a hand-crafted quilt. Asher, the son of Jackie Betters and Brady Guy of Gloversville was born on March 18, at 10:11 p.m., weighing 8 lbs. He joins a sister Trinity, 7 years-old.“This is beautiful,” said Jackie Betters, as she expressed her thanks. “The quilt matches perfectly with the baby’s nursery theme.”Representing the Sew Busy Quilt Guild were quilters Nancy Frank and Joanne Gasner. For the past 9 years, the organization has been donating quilts to the Littauer baby born closest to National Quilting Day. National Quilting Day takes place annually on the third Saturday in March. Baby Asher happened to be born exactly on this year’s date.“This is a labor of love for us,” said Nancy Frank. “We enjoy this special project every year.”The Sew Busy Quilt Guild meets on the third Monday of the month at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Gloversville, and holds a sit and sew session every second Monday.
Littauer joins with The Baby Box Co. bringing a safe sleeping environment to all NLH Birthing Center newborns Posted on February 23, 2017 by Dakota Pike2. The Baby Box Co. and Littauer collaborate to bring Baby Boxes to the Littauer community. Shown here is the first baby to receive the giftGLOVERSVILLE, NEW YORK (February 15, 2017) – Nathan Littauer Hospital and The Baby Box Co. announced the launch of the Universal Safe Sleep program at Nathan Littauer Hospital.“This program is a critical first step in reducing infant mortality,” stated Cheryl McGrattan, Vice President of Community Relations for the hospital. The new program is free to the new parents of the expected 340 newborns welcomed into the world at Nathan Littauer’s Birthing Center over the course of a year. Ms. McGrattan added, “According to our research, we are the first hospital in New York State to provide Baby Boxes to every family throughout the year.”This program is focused on reducing the infant mortality rate in the U.S. which hovered around 6.5 percent in 2015 which is worse than all EU countries, Japan, South Korea, Australia and even Cuba. The innovative new program combines the Baby Box University information platform for new parents along with the proven safety of the Baby Box. Empowering parents and families with essential information for them to properly care for newborns is the heart of this new initiative.Nathan Littauer’s Baby Box program is accessible to all expecting and new parents regardless of socioeconomic status. The Baby Boxes are available upon discharge from The Birthing Center.The use of Baby Boxes has been associated with helping Finland achieve one of the world’s lowest infant mortality rates. The Finnish initiative, which enables every expecting woman in the country to claim a free Baby Box once she receives prenatal care and parenting information from a healthcare professional, is credited with helping to decrease Finland’s infant mortality rate from 65 deaths for each 1,000 children born in 1938 to 2.26 deaths per 1,000 births in 2015.“What makes this program so unique is the focus on education” explained Maureen Mosher, RN, NLH Manager of Maternal Child Health, adding, “Every mother must watch a video syllabus in the prenatal stage to secure the box”. The multi-media parenting curricula called Baby Box University has video featuring local experts. The families will begin reviewing the syllabus in the prenatal stage. Upon completion, they are given a certificate which can be used to secure the free Baby Box.3. An example of the Baby Box contents new babies will receive after being born at Nathan Littauer’s Birthing CenterThe Adirondack Rural Health Network (ARHN), a program of Adirondack Health Institute, partially funded the Nathan Littauer Hospital’s Baby Box project, one of seven ARHN Prevention Agenda Projects, with support from the New York State Department of Health Charles D. Cook Office of Rural Health. “Providing families with a means to keep their newborn safe and secure is such a privilege,” said Margaret M. Vosburgh, CEO, Adirondack Health Institute. “We are grateful for the opportunity to support our partners at Nathan Littauer Hospital in this important work.”The Baby Boxes themselves, which are made from durable cardboard and come with a firm mattress, waterproof mattress cover and fitted cotton sheet, are traditionally used in Finland as a baby’s bed for up to the first eight months of life.Participants in the safe sleep program receive a Baby Box that contains the following items at Littauer:MattressWaterproof mattress protectorFitted sheetSafe sleep sackPampers baby wipesPampers Swaddlers diapersLansinoh breast pads and nipple creamVroom baby brain boosting activity cardsOnesieBoard bookThermometerInfant Mortality Rate Stats:Approximately 3,500 infants die annually in the United States from sleep-related deaths, including sudden unexpected infant death (SUID); ill-defined deaths; and accidental suffocation and strangulation.The number of infant deaths initially decreased in the 1990s after a national safe sleep campaign but has plateaued in recent years.The Baby Box Co. is Rooted from a Finnish Tradition:The use of Baby Boxes has been credited with helping Finland achieve one of the world’s lowest infant mortality rates. The initiative, which enables every expecting woman in the country to claim a free Baby Box once she receives prenatal care and parenting information from a healthcare professional, is credited with helping to decrease Finland’s infant mortality rate from 65 deaths for each 1,000 children born in 1938 to 3 deaths per 1,000 births in 2013, according to the World Health Organization.The success of the Finnish Baby Box intervention inspired the founders of The Baby Box Co. to adapt this tradition with enhanced multimedia parenting curricula through Baby Box University to the benefit of nonprofits, hospitals, government institutions and individual families worldwide.The Baby Box University program’s exponential growth has solidified the model as an impactful safe sleep and parenting education intervention for millennials.About The Baby Box Co.Entrepreneurs Michelle Vick and Jennifer Clary founded The Baby Box Co. to offer a safe sleep environment to babies everywhere. Through its Baby Box University platform, Baby Box Co. is an innovative, integrated program to support parents and improve maternal and infant healthcare outcomes globally. The Baby Box Co. partners with hospitals, government agencies and non-profit organizations to provide Baby Boxes, quality products, resources and ongoing education to families on a large scale. Baby Boxes are also available direct to consumer either as a standalone item or filled with new baby essentials. Serving families in 52 countries, The Baby Box Co. has offices in USA, UK, Canada, Australia and Singapore. For more information or to purchase a Baby Box, please visit www.babyboxco.com The Baby Box University education resource is at www.babyboxuniversity.comAbout Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing HomeNathan Littauer Hospital and Family of Health Services serves Fulton, Montgomery, and Hamilton counties in upstate New York with a full-service, 74-bed acute care hospital, nine primary care centers, a nursing home and a community education center. The hospital was founded in 1894 and has 1,000 employees. Littauer’s medical staff provides well over 100,000 patient encounters each year. For more information, please visit www.nlh.org.1. The Hart family with the first baby to receive a Baby Box from Littauer
Littauer celebrates World Breastfeeding Week with an event Posted on July 27, 2016 by Dakota PikeGLOVERSVILLE – Nathan Littauer Hospital, led by World Breastfeeding WeekNancy Quinlan, RN, IBCLC is celebrating World Breastfeeding Week, Aug. 1 through 7, with an event on Aug. 3, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.at the Littauer Surgical Center., located in the hospital at 99 E. State St., in Gloversville. Supporters, new or expectant moms with families are invited to attend. Refreshments will be served and mothers are welcome to share their stories and socialize.Littauer’s lactation services allows for a comfortable place for breastfeeding and pregnant families to get professional breastfeeding support, check baby’s weight and milk intake, and connect to community resources. Nancy Quinlan is a Registered Nurse and an International Breastfeeding Certified Lactation Consultant at Littauer. She has helped countless new mothers nurse their babies with breastfeeding classes or one-on-one consultations.“Breastfeeding is the one gift that only a mom can give her baby that will have a lifelong effect on them both,” said Quinlan. “Breast milk keeps your baby healthy and breastfeeding keeps the mother healthy.”By June, Qunlan had already celebrated 50 consultations for the year at Nathan Littauer Hospital, and her visits are constantly growing.This year’s World Breastfeeding Week theme, “Breastfeeding: A Key to Sustainable Development,” is about how breastfeeding is a key element in getting us to think about how to value our wellbeing from the very start of life, how to respect each other, and to care for the world we share.For further information or an appointment, call Nancy Quinlan at (518) 775-4101.
Nathan Littauer Hospital Designated Blue Distinction® Center for Maternity Care Posted on March 17, 2016 by Dakota Pike GLOVERSVILLE – In an effort to help prospective parents find hospitals that deliver quality maternity care, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield announced that Nathan Littauer Hospital has been designated as one of the first hospitals to receive the Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care designation, a new designation under the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.Nearly four million babies are born in the U.S. annually, making childbirth the most common cause of hospitalization. This new Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care program evaluates hospitals on several quality measures, including the percentage of newborns that fall into the category of early elective delivery, an ongoing concern in the medical community. Compared with babies born 39 weeks or later, early term infants face higher risks of infant death and respiratory ailments such as respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, and respiratory failure, among other conditions. These babies also have a higher rate of admission to Neonatal Intensive Care Units.In addition, hospitals that receive a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care designation agreed to meet requirements that align with principles that support evidence-based practices of care, as well as having initiated programs to promote successful breastfeeding, as described in the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative by Baby-Friendly USA or the Mother-Friendly Hospital program by the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) through its “Ten Steps of Mother-Friendly Care.” The program also evaluates hospitals on overall patient satisfaction, including a willingness to recommend the hospital to others.Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care, an expansion of the national Blue Distinction® Specialty Care program, are hospitals recognized for delivering quality specialty care safely and effectively, based on objective measures developed with input from the medical community.“I am so proud of our team,” said Maureen Mosher, Littauer Manager of Maternal Child Health. “Being one of the first hospitals designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care is a distinction we have achieved through our heartfelt dedication to our patients and community.”Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies across the nation have recognized more than 280 hospitals as Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care. Hospitals recognized for these designations were assessed using a combination of publicly available quality information and cost measures derived from BCBS companies’ medical claims.Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality providers for their specialty care needs in the areas of bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacements, spine surgery and transplants. Research shows that compared to other facilities, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients.For more information about the program, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.XXX Nathan Littauer Hospital and Family of Health Services serves Fulton, Montgomery, and Hamilton counties in upstate New York with a full-service, 74-bed acute care hospital, nine primary care centers, a nursing home and a community education center. The hospital was founded in 1894 and has 1,000 employees. Nathan Littauer continues to offer the latest in diagnostic imaging, including a new MRI suite. Littauer’s medical staff provides well over 100,000 patient encounters each year. For more information, please visit www.nlh.org.Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, a nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, is part of a family of companies that finances and delivers vital health care services to about 1.5 million people across upstate New York. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield provides access to high-quality, affordable health coverage, including valuable health-related resources that our members use every day, such as cost-saving prescription drug discounts and wellness tracking tools. To learn more, visit ExcellusBCBS.com.The Birthing Center at Nathan Littauer Hospital has been designated as one of the first hospitals to receive the Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care designation
