News

February 21, 2014

Wadley Regional Medical Center has received re-designation as a Texas Ten Step Hospital

Texarkana, Texas —Wadley Regional Medical Center has received re-designation as a Texas Ten Step Hospital. Wadley has had the designation since 2004 and continues to work towards improving the health of newborns and infants by earning the Texas Ten Step Program facility designation from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The Texas Ten Step Program was developed by the Texas Department of State Health Services in collaboration with the Texas Hospital Association in 1999. It encourages breastfeeding as the preferred method of feeding for newborns and infants. Wadley joins a growing number of Texas birth facilities that are supporting new mothers and their decision to breastfeed.

Based on the World Health Organization (WHO)/ UNICEF’s Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, the program aims to assist birth facility’s support of breastfeeding mothers before, during, and after delivery; encourages them to identify breastfeeding resources for the mother after she is discharged; and assists facilities in improving on national performance measures such as the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Breastfeeding Report Card. The goal of the Texas Ten Step Program is to have 82 percent of infants exclusively breastfeeding when discharged.

Texas Ten Step facilities are asked to address 85% of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, be designated as a Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite, evaluate their breastfeeding policies, maternity care practices and educate all healthcare staff routinely with evidence-based courses. “We have worked very hard to earn and keep the Texas Ten Step Program designation,” said Winnie Strickland, Director of Maternal/Child. “Wadley was the first hospital in Texarkana to employ a certified lactation consultant and we were proactive in reaching this designation ten years ago. We continue our commitment to offering our new mothers support and encouragement in breastfeeding.”

For more information on the Texas Ten Step Program, visit the web site at www.texastenstep.org