Jan 2007

Texas Breastfeeding Coalition Update

Volume 2 January, 2007

Summary of temporary board call - December 15, 2006

In attendance: Kathy Parkes, Janet Rourke, Linda Jackson, Kat Jackson, Nicole Larrabee, Laurie Beck, Julie Stagg, Annette Frantz, Pamela Berens, Judy Hopkinson, Libby Berkeley, Ines Anchondo, Hellen Sullivan, Gail Gresham, Tracy Erickson, Kimberley Traylor

Items discussed:

Proposal: (Janet Rourke) Delay the date for the full onsite TXBC meeting

Action desired #1: Solicit / Discuss alternatives
Action desired #2: vote on time and date of next on site full meeting

The members were unanimously behind the idea of postponing the TXBC meeting until March. The proposed date is March 9 so that anyone who wants can attend the TSOPHE Advocacy workshop on March 10.

Janet will check with TSOPHE to see if they are interested in sharing their workshop with us.

Libby Berkeley and Debbie Chasco are working to make Thomason Hospital a baby-friendly hospital. Libby agreed to coordinate a presentation on how they have gone about achieving baby-friendly status at the March meeting. A panel discussion was suggested. Pamela Berens volunteered to invite Felicia Lane who is the chief hospital administrator for a hospital in the Houston area that has applied for Baby Friendly status and will discontinue purchasing infant formula in January. She is also spearheading an effort to promote Baby Friendly policies in other hospitals within the Memorial system.

Kat Jackson announced the availability of $1500 educational grants from Medela for breastfeeding coalitions. This money could be used to help pay for speakers or travel expenses for members to the next TXBC onsite meeting. Janet Rourke agreed to write a letter requesting one of these grants.

Announcement: Logo contest winner

Action desired: Inform membership of final winner
Action desired #2: Propose / discuss / adopt method for honoring winner
Logo 8 and 13a have almost equal votes. The members on the conference call were in favor of having a run-off. This info will be sent to the members with a January 1 deadline to submit their vote.

Discussion: Dec 12 USBC –CDC conference call – are there things we learned that apply to the TXBC?

Action desired: Brainstorming: Member response to suggestion regarding alternate structures (no officers, regional meetings, potential funding sources, other?)
Proposal: (Judy Hopkinson) “The TXBC will schedule full coalition conference calls every 2 months beginning either 1 hour or 30 minutes before the onset of the USBC-CDC conference call.” All members will log on at the start of the TXBC meeting, conduct business, and mute their phones 5 minutes before the beginning of the CDC phone conference if they plan to participate.
Action desired: discussion and vote

The members were in favor of having a full membership conference call before each CDC call to be initiated either 1 hour or 30 minutes before regular USBC/CDC calls. These calls occur on the second Tuesday of even numbered months at 2 pm Eastern (1 pm Central) time. Therefore TXBC calls will begin at 12 noon or 12:30 pm.

Proposal: (Judy Hopkinson) “Regional coalitions will take responsibility for agenda and notification for each TXBC conference call” including

E-mail reminder to membership regarding the time of on onset, call in number, and access code for the call
E-mail agenda for the call including - of items to be discussed and the outcome or product desired (i.e. decision regarding…; sharing information regarding…; clarifying proposal on…; identification of responsible parties for…; etc.)
Update list of TXBC action items and pending items
Action desired: discussion and vote

The members were in favor of sharing responsibility for the TXBC conference calls. Since the TXBC meeting is in Austin, Central Texas Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition volunteered to sponsor the February 13 call. Members from SWABA in El Paso volunteered to sponsor the April 10^th call. An agenda of the calls will be sent out for other coalitions to volunteer to sponsor a call. The agenda will be posted on the TXBC website. Coalitions who volunteer to take responsibility for a call are agreeing to carry out the three items listed and to prepare a draft of the minutes of the call. The initial draft of the minutes will be distributed to the membership for comments and the final version will be e-mailed to Janet Rourke for posting on the web site in the “members only” section.

A general discussion regarding the executive structure of the TXBC was held in response to some of the ideas generated in the USBC/CDC conference call on Tuesday. Specifically, it was suggested that coalitions could operate without the normal “Chair / Co-chair / secretary” structure and instead rotate executive responsibilities among the coalitions. The decision to rotate responsibility for organization of conference calls among the various coalitions reflects a general approval of this concept. It was recognized that there is no rush to develop standard by-laws for the TXBC that designate specific officers and election cycles. Instead, the consensus of the membership was that we would see how it works for us, as a state, to rotate responsibilities so that we can allow a viable structure to evolve based on our experience. At the same time, it was acknowledged that the roles of treasurer and webmaster would be best filled by designated individuals. Therefore, designation of specific individuals to fill these positions is a current need and can be addressed at the next full meeting of the membership.

Discussion: TX strategic plan for obesity

Action desire #1: Increase awareness of content and means of access
Action desire #2: Discuss potential contribution of the TXBC to this effort

Janet Rourke represented TXBC at the obesity steering committee meeting on Dec. 12. Breastfeeding promotion is prominent throughout the obesity strategic plan – thanks in large part to the efforts of Judy Hopkinson who participated in development and revision of the plan. At the meeting, staff requested help in identifying breastfeeding resources in Texas. The request for help was discussed on the conference call and members were in favor of helping gather information about breastfeeding resources in their community. The obesity strategic plan can be downloaded from the website www.EatSmartBeActiveTX.org

HMHB legislative action committee –

Action desired: Inform all members of collaboration and encourage joint membership

In deference to those members who cannot participate in lobbying, the TXBC will work in partnership with the HMHB legislative action committee. TXBC members who wish to participate in direct lobbying activity (as opposed to education of legislators) are encouraged to join the HMHB legislative action committee. This can be done by emailing Marianne Baker-Bolduc at Marianne.bolduc@aol.com. Members of this committee are kept updated on legislative action on breastfeeding bills in Texas, and are assisted in mounting lobbying efforts.

Review of web site – how are we doing?

Action desired: Encourage members to review site and provide input as appropriate.

Members were encouraged to review their information on the web site and to provide updates in an appropriate format for posting.

Next conference call – date and organizer

Date: February 13
Organizer: Central Texas HMHB

Mark your calendars: The TXBC Annual Meeting will be held on March 9, 2007, at the American Cancer Society offices in Austin, Texas. More information to follow!

The Texas Society of Public Health Educators (TSOPHE) is having an advocacy workshop on March 10, 2007 at the American Cancer Society offices. TXBC members may attend this workshop for a $30 registration fee.

Thank you for your membership in the Texas Breastfeeding Coalition. Together, we can improve breastfeeding rates in Texas!


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