2009 NWA Conference Poster and Table Top Abstracts

 

1. Breastfeeding;  Just (Go) Do It!

Diane Sublett, RD and Joye Gunsaulis, Administrative Assistant

Major County Health Department

501 East Broadway

Fairview, OK  73772

Phone: 580-227-3362          Fax: 580-227-3836         DianeS.@health.ok.gov

 

This interactive poster teaches clients what to expect in the early days of breastfeeding.  The stomach size of the full term newborn baby, as well as at 3 and 10 days is displayed.  Signs to watch for to help reassure the adequacy of breastmilk (i.e. diaper quantity, etc. and weight gain) are displayed.  Emphasis is placed on trusting one’s body and baby to work as a team.

 

2. Healthy Living Survey

Phyllis Crowley, MS, RD, IBCLC

Utah State WIC Program

P.O. Box 141013

Salt Lake City, UT  84114-1013

Phone: 801-538-6823           Fax: 801-538-6729         pcrowley@utah.gov

 

This Utah WIC study seeks to assess current access to health food choices and the availability of safe physical activity among a Utah population at high-risk for obesity.  A needs assessment tool entitled, WIC Healthy Living Survey, was developed and randomly distributed to 650 WIC participants who were enrolled at the Ogden WIC Clinic during May of 2008.  In June of 2008, the completed surveys were given to the Utah Correctional Institute (UCI) for data record formatting and data entry.  All analyses were conducted using SAS and Excel.  Overall, 69% said there are trails for walking, hiking or bicycling near their homes and 96% among those taking the English version reported that there are grocery stores near their home that offer healthy foods, while only 82% among those taking the Spanish version agreed.

 

3. “Mom’s & Babies Breastfeeding – It’s Two-Part Harmony That’s Music

     to Our Ears!”

Lorna Emond and Marcella Singleton, MS, RD, LDN, IBCLC

Knox County Health Department

140 Dameron Avenue

Knoxville, TN  37917

Phone: 865-215-5048            Fax: 865-215-5064        lorna.emond@knoxcounty.org

Phone:  865-215-5064           Fax: 865-215-5064        marcella.singleton@knoxcounty.org

 

Knox County Health Department WIC Program would like to share information about the success we have experienced by creating a group education opportunity for breastfeeding mothers and babies.  This group is offered twice every week and is open to mothers that are exclusively breastfeeding as well as moms supplementing. The group has grown in popularity from inception in 2006, and feedback from moms attending indicates that we are accomplishing our goal – input from other breastfeeding mothers provides another level of support that makes the difference for some moms who have continued breastfeeding as a result of attending this group. Presentation will include audio/video clips filmed during recent groups as well as reports of information collected from clients, such as satisfaction ratings, program data such as participation numbers, impact on immunization rates and attendance rates.

 

4. Putting the Pieces Together to Protect, Promote and Support Exclusively Breastfeeding in a Montana Community

Mary Pittaway, MA, RD,CLC; Julie Serstad, BSN, MS; Trudy Mizner, BSN; Melissa Curran, MPH; Mary Strand, IBCLC

Missoula City-County Health Department Nutrition Services Division

301 W. Alder

Missoula, MT  59802

Phone:  406-258-4837            Fax: 406-258-4906      pittawaym@ho.missoula.mt.us

 

Multiple community breastfeeding promotion interventions occurred in Missoula over a

3-year period, yet we were not seeing concurrent increases in exclusively breastfeeding rates by WIC mothers.  Instituting a simple “cue card and tracking system” has resulted in bringing our EBF rates at 6 months, from 3% to 18% of WIC mothers who participated in WIC during the prenatal period and at least 6 months postpartum.  This project was funded through our county WIC grant (USDA), MCH grant (HHS), Missoula County with additional support from the City MatCH Data Institute. 

 

5. Tennessee Farmers Market Nutrition Program

Ann Hopton

Tennessee Department of Health

Nutrition and Wellness Section

425 5th Ave. North

Nashville, TN  37243

Phone:  615-532-8184           Fax: 615-532-7189      Ann.Hopton@state.tn.us

 

The goals of the Tennessee Farmers Market Nutrition Program are to increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and to expand the awareness and use of produce grown by Tennessee farmers.  The WIC and Senior FMNPs provide participating families with vouchers to purchase fresh, unprocessed, Tennessee grown produce at selected farmers’ locations.  Vouchers are used to purchase produce from farmers who have completed a special training program and have been authorized by FMNP to accept vouchers.  Authorized farmers validate the vouchers with a stamp provided by the Department of Health and deposit vouchers in their bank account for payment.

 

 

 

 

6. “No Safe time. No safe amount. No safe type.”

Sue Taylor/Foundations for Alcohol Cessation: Education and Support (FACES)

St. Joseph County Indiana WIC

325 N. Lafayette Blvd.

South Bend, IN  46601

Phone: 574-647-2173             Fax: 574-647-2230       staylor@memorialsb.org

 

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are the leading cause of mental retardation in children.  FASD is 100% preventable simply by avoiding all types and amounts of alcohol in the prenatal period.  Foundations for Alcohol Cessation: Education and Support (FACES) is a SAMSHA funded contract, under the guidance of Northrop Grumman, and is designed to decrease the numbers of women using alcohol during pregnancy. 100% of pregnant women who have been screened, educated and provided with a brief intervention, including referral to alcohol treatment if needed, have attained alcohol abstinence in the prenatal period.

 

7. Get the Lead Out: Community Based Research aimed at reducing sub-threshold exposure

Sue Taylor and Jody Nicholson

St. Joseph County

325 N. Lafayette Blvd.

South Bend,  IN   46601

Phone:  574-647-2173             Fax: 574-647-1351     staylor@memorialsb.org

 

Get the Lead Out is a Community Based Research (CBR) project aimed at reducing subthreshold exposure for children from low-income families.  Families were assigned to four intervention groups aimed at teaching families to reduce the amount of lead dust in the home environment.  Results indicate a reduction in children’s blood lead levels, increase in parental knowledge of lead risk and protective factors, and increase in cleaning quality and frequency regardless of group assignment. Findings will be discussed in terms of implications for dissemination and future directions for research.

 

8. California Healhy Habits Campaign

Kim Frinzell, RD

California WIC Program

3901 Lennane Drive

Sacramento, CA  95834

Phone:  916-928-8888           Fax: 916-263-3321     Kim.Frinzell@cdph.ca.gov

 

The California WIC Healthy Habits Campaign is a year-long, multiphase, educational program that incorporates the Sesame Workshop Get Healthy Now messages and is designed to: engage and motivate WIC staff and their families to improve their own eating habits; help WIC participants incorporate healthy habits into their daily lives using the new WIC foods; support the changes to the upcoming new WIC foods.

 

 

9.  Let’s Go Shopping

Linnea Sallack

California Department of Public Health – WIC

3901 Lennane Drive

Sacramento, CA  95834

Phone: 916-928-8547            Fax: 916-263-3317    susan.leblanc@cdph.ca.gov

916-928-8886                                                                                                                                                                                               maria.galvan@cdph.ca.gov

 

Local agency staff learned about the participants’ shopping experience during an interactive, multimedia exhibit at the California WIC Association Annual Conference.

Staff gained valuable insight regarding the challenges and opportunities participants will face while shopping for the new WIC foods.

 

10. Factors Affecting Breastfeeding

Geetha Natarajan, MS, RD, LDN

Tennessee WIC Program

Upper Cumberland Region

200 West 10th Street

Cookeville, TN  38501-6076

Phone: 931-646-7512           Fax: 931-372-2756   Geetha.Natarajan@state.tn.us

 

A study of factors that influence women to breastfeed and discontinue breastfeeding was conducted in the Upper Cumberland Region of Tennessee.  Factors studied included family and spousal support, returning to work or school, WIC counseling and peer support.

 

11. Nutrition Education Menu Program-Hungry for a Change!

Jenae Jongebloed

Tri County Community Health Center

3331 Easy Street

Dunn, NC  28334

Phone: 910-567-7026           Fax: 910-567-6072        jjongebloed@tcchc.com

 

We created low-risk nutrition education menus (1 for Women, 1 for Infants, 1 for Children) similar to a restaurant, which provide WIC participants the opportunity to choose their nutrition education.  Participants receive education materials in English or Spanish from WIC support staff as well as a short lesson on the topic during voucher issuance.  This method of providing nutrition education follows the VENA mandate, is adaptable to any local agency, revitalized our WIC nutrition education program, and won the 2008 NC WIC Innovative Practices Award.

 

12.  Putting the New Food Packages in Action: Development of an Online Toolkit for WIC Staff

Kathleen Pellechia, RD and Janice K. Schneider, MS, RD

USDA, WIC Works Resource System

USDA, National Agricultural Library

10301 Baltimore Ave. Room 105

Beltsville, MD  20705

Phone:  301-504-6096              Fax: 301-504-6409      kathleen.pellechia@ars.usda.gov

 

The WIC food packages are changing to better meet the nutritional needs of WIC participants.  The new food packages align with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and infant feeding practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The development of online calculators and tools, as well as the sharing of resources between WIC State agencies is crucial to the timely implementation of the new food packages.

 

13.  Improving WIC Services in Remote Areas of Oregon by Connecting WIC Satellite Clinics to the Internet                                                                                      

Susan Greathouse, RD, MPH, IBCLC

Oregon State WIC Office

800 NE Oregon Street, Suite 865

Portland, OR  97232

Phone: 971-673-0042               Fax: 971-673-0071        susan.p.greathouse@state.or.us

 

The Oregon WIC Program is converting all 46 of its remote area satellite clinics from a restrictive and cumbersome stand-alone laptop data management system to a “direct connect” configuration via a combination of DSL and cellular company data devices or “air cards.”  While the predicted benefits of this approach initially included improved data security, improved ease of use for WIC staff, and decreased burden on State WIC application support, during the piloting of the project additional benefits became evident, including broader and more accommodating services for WIC participants in these remote areas through improved access to WIC services and benefits and complementary public health services such as immunizations.  As the program continues to roll-out the benefits to all parties continue to be revealed and the response has been overwhelmingly positive from everyone involved.

 

14.  Protect the Children

Darlene V. Dymsza, RD, LDN

Greater New Bedford Health Center WIC

874 Purchase Street

New Bedford, MA 02740

Phone: 508-997-1500              Fax: 508-984-8427        ddymsza@gnbchc.org

The objective of this presentation is to show how partnerships came together to achieve a common goal.  The goal is to reduce smoking among WIC participants; and reduce exposure of women, infants and young children to secondhand smoke.

 

15.  Mississippi WIC Direct Food Distribution

Carol Jones, MA, RD

Mississippi State Department of Health WIC Program

2095 Dunbarton Drive

Jackson, MS  39216

Phone:  601-987-4661         Fax: 601-987-4670       carjones@msdh.state.ms.us

 

The purpose of this poster presentation is to demonstrate how the direct WIC food distribution process works in Mississippi.  This describes some of the advantages of the direction distribution system and provides photographs of some of the Food Centers around the state.

 

16.  WIC Research at ERS

Elizabeth Frazao

USDA/Economic Research Service

1800 M Street, NW, Room 2153

Washington, DC  20036-5831

Phone:  202-694-5455             Fax: 202-694-5677    efrazao@ers.usda.gov

 

USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) conducts and funds studies and evaluations of the Nation’s domestic food and nutrition assistance programs, including WIC.  ERS research on these programs is designed to meet the critical information needs of Congress, program managers, policy officials, the research community, and the public at large.  The poster will inform readers about recently-completed projects of relevance to WIC.

 

17.  Taking WIC on the Road: high risk populations

Bonnie Fritz, RD, CD, IBCLC

Public Health Seattle King County-Downtown Mobile Clinic

2124 Fourth Ave STE 100

Seattle, WA  98121

Phone: 206-296-2755           Fax: 206-296-3140       bonnie.fritz@kingcounty.gov

 

The Mobile WIC – MOMs Plus program in Public Health Seattle King County is designed to meet the high risk client where they are on their path to recovery.  We believe that addiction extends through every area of a person’s life and requires complex interventions by a multidisciplinary team.  The overall goal of services is to reduce recidivism back to jail and prison, improve maternal and infant outcomes, improve nutritional status and provide support through addiction recovery.

 

18.  The New Food Breastfeeding Package: Staff and Participant Perceptions and Attitudes

Lisa Richardson

Nutrition Services Branch, NC Division of Public Health

1914 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC  27699-1914

Phone: 919-707-5786             Fax: 919-870-4898        Lisa.Richardson@ncmail.net

 

This poster summarizes initial results from a comprehensive state-wide focus group process concerning the new breastfeeding food packages.  Groups were conducted with Local Agency staff of all levels, and with pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women.  These groups explored the perceived impact the new food package and specific policy components could have on breastfeeding initiation and duration.

 

19.  The New Food Package: What do Participants and Vendors Have to Say?

Lisa Richardson

Nutrition Services Branch, NC Division of Public Health

1914 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-1914

Phone: 919-707-5786           Fax: 919-870-4898        Lisa.Richardson@ncmail.net

 

This poster summarizes results from two state-wide surveys exploring new food package options, shopping experiences along with selected educational issues for participants and vendors. It will also demonstrate how this data was sued to support and enhance material and message development for participants and staff.

 

20.  Breastfeeding Data How You Like It

Pat Dunavan, RD, LD and Julie Ornelas, RD, LD

Nutrition and WIC Services, Bureau of Family Health

Suite 220, 1000 SW Jackson

Topeka, KS  66612

Phone: 785-296-1322              Fax: 785-296-1326   pdunavan@kdheks.gov

 

The Kansas WIC ad hoc breastfeeding report program in the KWIC data system allows for designer breastfeeding reports.  Reports can be designed to provide data on the effects of risk factors, referrals and program enrollment, age, education, race and ethnicity on breastfeeding initiation and duration. 

 

21.  “All you need is TLC”

Nicole Cunningham, MS, RD, CDN

New York State WIC Program

Riverview Center

150 Broadway, 6th Fl West

Albany, NY  12204

Phone: 518-402-7126             Fax: 518-402-7348        nac07@health.state.ny.us

 

As part of the transition to participant-centered services, New York State WIC program developed and piloted “Talk, Listen, Connect” (TLC), a facilitated group nutrition education project.  The project employs a holistic approach based on the belief that involvement of all staff who interact with WIC participants, supervise staff and manage programs are integral to the successful implementation of facilitated group discussion.  This session will highlight critical focus areas that were identified and incorporated into the structure of the TLC project and may be applied to other projects.

 

22.  Successful Steps on the Path to Good Health

Heidi Militana, RD, CDN

New York State Fit WIC

Riverview Center

150 Broadway, 6th FL West

Albany, NY  12204

Phone:  518-402-6817             Fax: 518-402-7348      hxm03@health.state.ny.us

 

Fit WIC was the NYS WIC Program’s first organized and consistent effort to involve all local staff in introducing a new health topic, physical activity, to participants.  All WIC local agencies participated in the Fit WIC training, and were provided with basic guidelines and suggestions for appropriate activities.  A qualitative study was developed to aid the NYS WIC Program in evaluating the success of FIT WIC, and to review different methods of implementation among WIC clinics to identify best practices.  Analysis is underway to provide detailed information on the Fit WIC activities that will be most successful for participants, environment, staff and community.

 

23.  New Food Packages Are Coming!

Maureen Shanahan, MS, RN

New York State Department of Health

Riverview Center

150 Broadway

Albany, NY 12204-2719

Phone: 518-402-7093             Fax: 518-402-7348       mfs01@health.state.ny.us

 

The New York State (NYS) WIC Program will showcase nutrition education materials developed in preparation for implementation of the food package changes.  New York State implemented the new food package in January 2009.  Nutrition materials developed for use with staff and participants include topics such as breastfeeding, infant feeding guidelines, formula distribution, food package changes, rationale for changes, monthly maximum reference tables for foods and formula, and new WIC foods.

 

24.  Connecting the “Docs”

Maureen Shanahan, MS, RN

New York State Department of Health

Riverview Center

150 Broadway

Albany, NY  12204-2719

Phone:  518-402-7093           Fax: 518-402-7348     mfs01@health.state.ny.us

 

The New York State (NYS) WIC Program will detail how to prepare health care providers for the implementation of the food package changes.  NYS implemented the new food package in January 2009 and undertook a multi-faceted approach to preparing health care providers for the largest change in the WIC program in 35 years.  The approaches, designed to appeal to a variety of learning modalities, including a pilot public health detailing project, a physician education DVD, a community education PowerPoint presentation, and a series of “Dear Doctor” letters.

 

25.  Breastfeeding Peer Counselors at Work in the City of Milwaukee Health Department WIC Program

Nancy Castro

City of Milwaukee Health Department - WIC Program

Northwest Health Center

7630 West Mill Road

Milwaukee, WI  53218

Phone: 414-286-8804              Fax: 414-286-5479         ncastr@milwaukee.gov

 

The session will highlight the City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) WIC Programs’ comprehensive efforts to successfully increase the breastfeeding rates of its WIC participants, including the implementation of: a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor program, a “Warm Line” to provide breastfeeding support to WIC moms outside of normal clinic hours, and efforts toward completion of the 10 Steps to a Breastfeeding Friendly Health Department.  Since the inception of the program, the breastfeeding initiation rates for mothers seen at MHD WIC sites have continued to increase.  At one site where a majority of clients are African American women, the rates have increased 10.3%, from 38.2% (in 2007) to 48.5% (in 2008).

 

26.  Achieving Competency in Breastfeeding

Brenda Matthews, MS, RD, CLC and Stepanie Bess, MS, RD, LDN, CLC

Illinois Department of Human Services

1112 S. Wabash, 3rd Floor

Chicago, IL  60605

Phone: 312-793-1643          Fax: 312-793-2760        brenda.snyder@illinois.gov

 

Illinois continues to focus on improving staff competencies to provide knowledgeable education, counseling and support for breastfeeding clients.  Staff training programs have been analyzed and evaluated to provide baseline data, as well as a review of programs presented and attended the past several years to determine the numbers of former and current staff trained and competent to assess the breastfeeding dyad.

 

27.  Shelby County Breast Pump Initiative

Donna Ross, BA, CLC

The Memphis and Shelby County Health Deparment

814 Jefferson Ave.

Memphis, TN  38105

Phone:  901-545-7265          Fax: 901-545-6375          Donna.Ross@shelbycountytn.gov

 

Memphis and Shelby County WIC, local Health Care Facilities, Hospitals, and Insurance Companies collaborated to meet the needs of a population surrounded by disparities.  Our goal continues to be the increased use of human milk among the Shelby County NICU population, therefore, positively impacting the high infant mortality rates of our region.

Through these efforts, a targeted result will be the increased awareness of the benefits of human milk for human babies, especially for struggling premature infants.

 

28.  Texas Materials for the NEW WIC Food Package

Amanda Hovis

Texas Department of State Health Services

1100 W. 49th Street

Austin, TX  78756

Phone: 512-341-4514                                                amanda.hovis@dshs.state.tx.us

 

This poster presentation will display the nutrition education materials Texas developed for the new WIC food packages including posters, brochures, and a new look for TexasWIC.org.

 

29.  Participant-Centered Nutrition Education (PCE) Project in the Western Region

Loren Bell, Jan Kallio, Jen Decker, Sherri Farias

Altarum Institute

Western Region WIC Programs

1200 18th Street NW, 7th Floor

Washington, DC  20036

Phone: 202-828-5100           Fax: 202-679-9713      sherri.farias@altarum.org

 

The fourteen States in the Western Region combined resources to assess, model and implement participant-centered nutrition education (PCE) as a complement to VENA.  The region contracted with Altarum Institute to conduct literature reviews, readiness assessments in each state, develop a model for PCE, and develop supporting resources.

 

30. The Art of Breastfeeding Throughout the Ages:  Always a Timeless Classic

Anna Howe-Limbaugh, MS, RD, LD, IBCLC

McCutain County Health Department

2406 CR 15520

Pattonville, TX  75468

Phone: 580-286-6628          Fax: 580-286-2012         annah@health.ok.gov

 

Display of art work from the past and present portraying women breastfeeding.

Picasso to modern day artist, we can see the artist fascination of women feeding their babies naturally.

 

 31.  Building Community Partnerships

Gina Forrest, MPH, CHES

Monroe County/Bloomington Hospital

333 E. Miller Drive

Bloomington, IN  47401

Phone: 812-353-3236            Fax: 812-353-3243       gforrest@bloomingtonhospital.org

 

This poster display will show what has worked for our community to build community partnerships, increase knowledge of the WIC program, and increase our caseload.

 

Updated 4/23/09