Partnership lets new mothers in Connecticut and Massachusetts access lactation support via telehealth at no cost
Trinity Health Of New England and Nest Collaborative announced the launch of a new program providing telehealth breastfeeding support to families giving birth at the integrated health system’s hospitals in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
The new program is available now to mothers who give birth within any of Trinity Health Of New England’s three birthing hospitals – Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, Conn., Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Conn., and Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Mass.
Trinity Health Of New England has a long history of supporting patients in breastfeeding, which imparts significant health benefits to both babies and their mothers. The health system is committed to ensuring expectant mothers can sign up for the Nest Collaborative service at no cost to the patient, regardless of their insurance status. Registration for interested parents is handled by each hospital’s maternity team, who provide immediate virtual access to Nest Collaborative’s International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) once parents return home with their newborns.
“We know every new mother is going to run into breastfeeding hurdles and frustrations and we want to provide families with support, so they’re able to overcome those challenges and reach their feeding goals,” said Walter Trymbulak, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of the Women and Infants Service Line at Trinity Health Of New England. “Nest plays a critical dual role in that process by augmenting the lactation services we provide for our moms in the hospital and also fortifying and helping moms who are being seen by our private OBGYN providers in the community. Nothing’s been easier than this relationship and we’re hoping other Trinity Health hospitals across the country will also adopt this program.”
Mary Carnemolla, RN, the prepared childbirth coordinator at Saint Francis Hospital, noted the value in both the multi-lingual capabilities of Nest Collaborative’s IBCLCs – with service available in Arabic, English, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Portuguese, Spanish, Urdu and Burmese – and their availability for same-day appointments 7 days a week and late into the evening.
“(Nest Collaborative consultants) speak the language of the people we serve, and they’re available when new moms are trying to put what they’ve learned into practice at 8pm or 9pm when they’re tired, starting to struggle, and they just need a little extra guidance to breastfeed,” Carnemolla said. “It’s also a comfort to our on-staff lactation consultants to know that once their patient leaves the hospital, a Nest Collaborative consultant is going to follow up with that patient and help them continue on their breastfeeding journey.”
Nest Collaborative’s nationwide network of lactation consultants are available to families for virtual consultations, seven days a week, in all 50 states.
“Amid the infant feeding crisis, there has never been a more critical time to support parents in finding the safest, most appropriate way to ensure their newborns are well fed and healthy,” said Judith Nowlin, CEO of Nest Collaborative. “We are grateful to Trinity Health Of New England for allowing our certified lactation consultants to help guide parents to the right choice for their family. Breastfeeding can be challenging, so we focus on helping parents find safe feeding options if exclusive breastfeeding is not possible or desired.”
Nest Collaborative removes a significant barrier to breastfeeding by connecting parents to lactation consultants who are covered in-full by most national insurers. The company accepts insurance from the healthcare marketplace, employee-sponsored plans and Medicaid.
Nest Collaborative has quickly scaled to serve more than 10,000 parents and babies across the country. Families highly recommend the company’s services with a consistent NPS rating of 95+.