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IBCLC Licensure A Journey inGeorgiaImagine yoursquore getting ready for an old-fashionedcar triphellip a trip similar to ones you used to takewith your parents While you might not have anactual paper map in hand you have the routesaved on your phone Your bags are packed Yourfamily is loaded in the car snacks have beenpacked a cooler containing drinks on ice is in theback Seat belts onhellip you start the engine reachup to press the garage door opener andhellip thegarage doesnrsquot open Yoursquore stuck Stuck is exactly where we have been in our journeyto improve the rates of initiation and duration ofbreastfeeding in Georgia over the last five to sevenyears To be sure there has been progress insome areas For example we now have sevenldquoBaby-Friendlyrdquo hospitals Dekalb Medical DoctorsHospital Emory University Hospital MidtownGrady Memorial Hospital Gwinnett Medical Center
E-NEWS
Board of Directors ExecutiveCommittee
Dina Herren BSN RNC-OBMSN FNP-C
IBCLC President
Natasha Worthy MSW
Secretary
Piedmont Henry Hospital and Wellstar CobbHospital But perhaps more telling is that afterhospital discharge the door has remained closedfor our mothers and babies who struggle tobreastfeed and need access to clinical help Thedoor has been closed to them because in the worldof healthcare access to clinical care dependsheavily upon licensure State licensing protects thepublic by ensuring that license holders possess theminimum competencies necessary to provide thecare for which they are licensed International Board Certified Lactation Consultants(IBCLCs) are educated and trained to handleclinical lactation and breastfeeding issues Theprofession was created by medical professionalsmore than 30 years ago to cover this gap inmaternal and infant care Yet without statelicensure of this internationally recognizedprofession physicians are reluctant to referpatients to them insurance companies generallywill not put them ldquoin-networkrdquo to provide servicesand lactation consultants struggle to make a viableliving As a healthcare attorney and lactation consultantover the last five years I collaborated withlegislators nurses physicians hospitalsdieticians non-profits la leche league leadersWIC peer counselors CLCs moms and dads to liftthat closed door with the passage of legislation tolicense IBCLCs in Georgia Licensure of IBCLCswas called for by the US Surgeon General in 2011and in 2016 Georgia became the second state inthe nation to answer that call with the passage ofthe ldquoGeorgia Lactation Consultant Practice Actrdquo Under this Georgia licensing law IBCLCs whopractice lactation care and services and who arenot otherwise exempted by the statute are to
Jo EllenMcDonough
PhD RN BC CNE Treasurer
Dan Eller MD
President - Elect
Jodi Hudgins RN MSN
Immediate Past-President
Quick Links
GPA Website
Print MembershipApplication
Join or RenewOnline
Join Us OnFacebook
Email Us
REGISTER NOW 2017 Conference September 20 -22
The King and Prince Beach amp Golf Resort
CONTACT PO Box 13784
Savannah Georgia31416
(912) 495-8266
obtain a license from the Secretary of State by July1 2018 The forms will be online and will require acriminal background check with a set of classifiablefingerprints The current fee for an initial license isset at $100 and licenses must be renewed everytwo years at a cost of $50 How does a ldquopiece of paperrdquo improve healthoutcomes Research has clearly established thatincreasing access to IBCLCs increasesbreastfeeding initiation and duration in all settings For example a Medicaid mother is four times morelikely to breastfeed upon hospital discharge if shereceives clinical care from an IBCLC And with aplethora of research we know that breastfeedinghas numerous health benefits for both mother andbaby For the baby there are reductions in the risksof numerous infections obesity gluten intoleranceand more For the mother there are reductions inthe risk of diabetes certain cancers andcardiovascular disease Thus licensure willimprove health outcomes by opening the door toinsurance credentialing and clearing physiciansrsquoreferral concerns hellip ultimately leading women toldquofindrdquo the clinical care they seek Of course there is much to do to realize thepromise of licensure Remember that garage doorNow it is open for our mothers and babies but thejourney remains ahead with many needs to helpsmooth their road We must issue licenses toqualified candidates we must increase the numberof IBCLCs by working with our statersquos communitycolleges to offer the required coursework andclinical hours in associate degree programs ldquohomegrowingrdquo more IBCLC exam candidates we mustwork with the other lactation support providers toensure their important work is supported and notimpeded in any way by our law we must continueto advocate for licensed IBCLCs with all private
Monday - Friday900 am - 500 pm
insurers in Georgia we must continueconversations with state officials about Medicaidreimbursement for lactation services The menu ofitems seems long but with licensure the door isopen and the journey beginshellip the destination isimproved breastfeeding outcomes and healthierGeorgia families for decades to come To help navigate this journey please contactArlene Toole or Leah Aldridge
The Secretary of State website with lactationconsultant licensing information including acopy of the Georgia Lactation ConsultantPractice Act can be found athttpsosgagovcgi-binplbformsaspboard=63 Applications for licenses will likelybe posted by the end of the yearC Castrucci et al ldquoA Comparison ofBreastfeeding Rates in an Urban BirthCohortrdquo Journal of Public HealthManagement 12 no 6 (2006) 578-585
Copyright copy 2017 Georgia Perinatal Association All rights reserved
Want to change how you receive these emails You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
Piedmont Henry Hospital and Wellstar CobbHospital But perhaps more telling is that afterhospital discharge the door has remained closedfor our mothers and babies who struggle tobreastfeed and need access to clinical help Thedoor has been closed to them because in the worldof healthcare access to clinical care dependsheavily upon licensure State licensing protects thepublic by ensuring that license holders possess theminimum competencies necessary to provide thecare for which they are licensed International Board Certified Lactation Consultants(IBCLCs) are educated and trained to handleclinical lactation and breastfeeding issues Theprofession was created by medical professionalsmore than 30 years ago to cover this gap inmaternal and infant care Yet without statelicensure of this internationally recognizedprofession physicians are reluctant to referpatients to them insurance companies generallywill not put them ldquoin-networkrdquo to provide servicesand lactation consultants struggle to make a viableliving As a healthcare attorney and lactation consultantover the last five years I collaborated withlegislators nurses physicians hospitalsdieticians non-profits la leche league leadersWIC peer counselors CLCs moms and dads to liftthat closed door with the passage of legislation tolicense IBCLCs in Georgia Licensure of IBCLCswas called for by the US Surgeon General in 2011and in 2016 Georgia became the second state inthe nation to answer that call with the passage ofthe ldquoGeorgia Lactation Consultant Practice Actrdquo Under this Georgia licensing law IBCLCs whopractice lactation care and services and who arenot otherwise exempted by the statute are to
Jo EllenMcDonough
PhD RN BC CNE Treasurer
Dan Eller MD
President - Elect
Jodi Hudgins RN MSN
Immediate Past-President
Quick Links
GPA Website
Print MembershipApplication
Join or RenewOnline
Join Us OnFacebook
Email Us
REGISTER NOW 2017 Conference September 20 -22
The King and Prince Beach amp Golf Resort
CONTACT PO Box 13784
Savannah Georgia31416
(912) 495-8266
obtain a license from the Secretary of State by July1 2018 The forms will be online and will require acriminal background check with a set of classifiablefingerprints The current fee for an initial license isset at $100 and licenses must be renewed everytwo years at a cost of $50 How does a ldquopiece of paperrdquo improve healthoutcomes Research has clearly established thatincreasing access to IBCLCs increasesbreastfeeding initiation and duration in all settings For example a Medicaid mother is four times morelikely to breastfeed upon hospital discharge if shereceives clinical care from an IBCLC And with aplethora of research we know that breastfeedinghas numerous health benefits for both mother andbaby For the baby there are reductions in the risksof numerous infections obesity gluten intoleranceand more For the mother there are reductions inthe risk of diabetes certain cancers andcardiovascular disease Thus licensure willimprove health outcomes by opening the door toinsurance credentialing and clearing physiciansrsquoreferral concerns hellip ultimately leading women toldquofindrdquo the clinical care they seek Of course there is much to do to realize thepromise of licensure Remember that garage doorNow it is open for our mothers and babies but thejourney remains ahead with many needs to helpsmooth their road We must issue licenses toqualified candidates we must increase the numberof IBCLCs by working with our statersquos communitycolleges to offer the required coursework andclinical hours in associate degree programs ldquohomegrowingrdquo more IBCLC exam candidates we mustwork with the other lactation support providers toensure their important work is supported and notimpeded in any way by our law we must continueto advocate for licensed IBCLCs with all private
Monday - Friday900 am - 500 pm
insurers in Georgia we must continueconversations with state officials about Medicaidreimbursement for lactation services The menu ofitems seems long but with licensure the door isopen and the journey beginshellip the destination isimproved breastfeeding outcomes and healthierGeorgia families for decades to come To help navigate this journey please contactArlene Toole or Leah Aldridge
The Secretary of State website with lactationconsultant licensing information including acopy of the Georgia Lactation ConsultantPractice Act can be found athttpsosgagovcgi-binplbformsaspboard=63 Applications for licenses will likelybe posted by the end of the yearC Castrucci et al ldquoA Comparison ofBreastfeeding Rates in an Urban BirthCohortrdquo Journal of Public HealthManagement 12 no 6 (2006) 578-585
Copyright copy 2017 Georgia Perinatal Association All rights reserved
Want to change how you receive these emails You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
obtain a license from the Secretary of State by July1 2018 The forms will be online and will require acriminal background check with a set of classifiablefingerprints The current fee for an initial license isset at $100 and licenses must be renewed everytwo years at a cost of $50 How does a ldquopiece of paperrdquo improve healthoutcomes Research has clearly established thatincreasing access to IBCLCs increasesbreastfeeding initiation and duration in all settings For example a Medicaid mother is four times morelikely to breastfeed upon hospital discharge if shereceives clinical care from an IBCLC And with aplethora of research we know that breastfeedinghas numerous health benefits for both mother andbaby For the baby there are reductions in the risksof numerous infections obesity gluten intoleranceand more For the mother there are reductions inthe risk of diabetes certain cancers andcardiovascular disease Thus licensure willimprove health outcomes by opening the door toinsurance credentialing and clearing physiciansrsquoreferral concerns hellip ultimately leading women toldquofindrdquo the clinical care they seek Of course there is much to do to realize thepromise of licensure Remember that garage doorNow it is open for our mothers and babies but thejourney remains ahead with many needs to helpsmooth their road We must issue licenses toqualified candidates we must increase the numberof IBCLCs by working with our statersquos communitycolleges to offer the required coursework andclinical hours in associate degree programs ldquohomegrowingrdquo more IBCLC exam candidates we mustwork with the other lactation support providers toensure their important work is supported and notimpeded in any way by our law we must continueto advocate for licensed IBCLCs with all private
Monday - Friday900 am - 500 pm
insurers in Georgia we must continueconversations with state officials about Medicaidreimbursement for lactation services The menu ofitems seems long but with licensure the door isopen and the journey beginshellip the destination isimproved breastfeeding outcomes and healthierGeorgia families for decades to come To help navigate this journey please contactArlene Toole or Leah Aldridge
The Secretary of State website with lactationconsultant licensing information including acopy of the Georgia Lactation ConsultantPractice Act can be found athttpsosgagovcgi-binplbformsaspboard=63 Applications for licenses will likelybe posted by the end of the yearC Castrucci et al ldquoA Comparison ofBreastfeeding Rates in an Urban BirthCohortrdquo Journal of Public HealthManagement 12 no 6 (2006) 578-585
Copyright copy 2017 Georgia Perinatal Association All rights reserved
Want to change how you receive these emails You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
insurers in Georgia we must continueconversations with state officials about Medicaidreimbursement for lactation services The menu ofitems seems long but with licensure the door isopen and the journey beginshellip the destination isimproved breastfeeding outcomes and healthierGeorgia families for decades to come To help navigate this journey please contactArlene Toole or Leah Aldridge
The Secretary of State website with lactationconsultant licensing information including acopy of the Georgia Lactation ConsultantPractice Act can be found athttpsosgagovcgi-binplbformsaspboard=63 Applications for licenses will likelybe posted by the end of the yearC Castrucci et al ldquoA Comparison ofBreastfeeding Rates in an Urban BirthCohortrdquo Journal of Public HealthManagement 12 no 6 (2006) 578-585
Copyright copy 2017 Georgia Perinatal Association All rights reserved
Want to change how you receive these emails You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
Copyright copy 2017 Georgia Perinatal Association All rights reserved
Want to change how you receive these emails You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
