FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Grace
Adams
PHONE: (310)
938-2682
E-MAIL:
gadams@BreastfeedLA.org
Breastfeeding Task Force
Applauds County Agency’s
Move to Support
Breastfeeding Employees
Lactation Accommodation and
Breastfeeding Support
Services
Now Available in Los Angeles
County Department of Health
Services Facilities
Los Angeles, CA, March 15,
2004 ---
The Breastfeeding Task Force
of Greater Los Angeles will
present the Family Health
Promotion Award to
Jonathan E. Fielding, MD,
Director of Public Health of
the Los Angeles County
Department of Health
Services for its continuing
commitment to support and
promote breastfeeding in the
workplace upon the opening
of the new lactation room,
located in the Superior
Court Building on 600 South
Commonwealth in Los
Angeles. This is the second
such facility to benefit
from the County’s
breastfeeding support
programs. The County’s
programs provide employees
lactation rooms where
breastfeeding mothers can
express their milk
throughout the day with
access to hand washing
facilities, comfortable
accommodations, and support
services, including
nutrition and breastfeeding
information. At this
facility, the room will be
available to breastfeeding
employees of the Department
of Health Services and the
Superior Court Building.
As of January 2002, the
State of California passed a
law (AB 1025) requiring
employers to provide unpaid
break time and a private
space to express breast milk
during the workday.
Breastfeeding friendly
workplaces have been shown
to decrease employee
absenteeism by up to 57% due
to the health benefits for
both mother and baby, while
enhancing employee
productivity, loyalty, and
morale.
“Women
with infants comprise one of
the most important segments
of the U.S. workforce,” said
Karen Peters, executive
director of the
Breastfeeding Task Force of
Greater Los Angeles. “We
commend the Los Angeles
County Department of Health
Services for its leadership
in providing programs to
support a mother's choice to
continue to breastfeed when
she returns to work.
Programs such as this
provide health benefits to
women and infants, while
providing employers’ real
business benefits such as
increased employee retention
and lower health costs.”
The Breastfeeding Task Force
of Greater Los Angeles is a
non-profit organization
dedicated to educating the
public about breastfeeding
support and decreasing the
societal barriers to
breastfeeding. Many mothers
fail to breastfeed or
prematurely wean because of
a perceived or actual lack
of support from their
employers. The Breastfeeding
Works project will decrease
those barriers by helping
employers to realize the
value of supporting
breastfeeding working
mothers. For more
information, please visit
its website at
www.BreastfeedLA.org
County of Los Angeles,
Department of Health
Services, Office of
Communications
241 N. Figueroa Street, Room
348
·
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel: (213) 240-8144
·
Fax: (213) 481-1406
|
