Important: Vaccine for Home Based Healthcare Workers

Hi all, It's official!

As of today all home based health care workers are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. Please see the message from the MA Executive Office of Human Services re: this important announcement and a phone in Town Hall for Home Based Healthcare workers happening this evening at 7 pm.

MA Telephone Town Hall about vaccine safety and efficacy will take place tonight Thurs., Jan. 21 at 7 pm.

Call in 833-946-1566 mass.gov/teletownhall

Also attached is the list of vaccinations sites available.

We will update with more info as we get it.

Maire MacLean

Vaccine Sites

Call for Research Participants

Calls for Research Participants

Several people have reached out with requests to help find participants for their research.  Please find proposals below and be in touch with the researchers with any questions.

From Robin Snyder-Drummond, past president of MLCA and IBCLC in private practice in Maine:


I've made a survey with questions about insurance coverage for Lactation Consultant services. It's based on the survey that was published in Clinical Lactation in 2017. I will compare these answers to the original study.  I would like this to go to families in all parts of MA. Please feel free to forward the information to clients and other IBCLCs.

Here's the link:
https://forms.gle/4o8qvq22hwiRQdns9

This will be an article, not a controlled study. I also welcome your insights about what has changed in MA since 2017 that has helped or hindered insurance coverage/payment for services.

 

Though it would be good to know more about coverage during COVID-19 quarantine, I added only two short questions about that mostly because  that's a fairly new situation that could be delved into in another survey.

Please forward this link to families you know who live in MA and have contacted IBCLCs about services from 2017 to present. Let me know if you  have any trouble with this link or have questions.

Robin@birthready.com

From UMASS Amherst. Screening tool for early detection of breast cancer. Nationwide:

We are researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who are conducting a funded study of the cells in breastmilk with the goal of developing a screen for early detection of breast cancer and a tool for individual assessment of breast cancer risk.

We have two target populations in the project: high-risk asymptomatic women who are nursing, and have tested positive for a pathogenic BRCA variant (mutation), and any lactating women (regardless of BRCA status) who have a post-partum diagnosis of breast cancer, OR are undergoing a biopsy. The latter group will establish a reference cancer profile. This is necessary because the study participants who are asymptomatic BRCA-carriers are likely to seek mastectomies after completing their families to avoid cancer development. 

We are reaching out to you because we hope you would be willing to help us in getting the word out about our study to women who are breastfeeding and have these issues.

We are hunkered down right now because of the Corona virus but the timings across the country are going to vary, and we are reaching out now in anticipation that this will pass. We would be able to handle samples from cancer cases whenever they occur.

If have questions about the study, please contact us directly or visit our website (BreastmilkResearch.org).
We would be happy to provide informational materials.We thank you for considering our request and trust you stay safe.

Kathleen Arcaro, PhD

karcaro@umass.edu

 

413-577-1823

Brian Pentecost, PhD

bpentecost@umass.edu

Also from UMASS Amherst. Diet related.  Must be local:

We are conducting a clinical trial to determine the effects of a diet that includes 8 – 10 daily servings of fruits and vegetables – outcome measures include cytokine levels in breastmilk, DNA methylation in breast milk cells, and maternal weight. For this study women need to live within 25 miles of Amherst MA.

Kathleen
Arcaro, PhD
karcaro@umass.edu

413-577-1823

Brian
Pentecost, PhD
bpentecost@umass.edu

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USLCA Chapter Highlight

We are excited to announce that MLCA was chosen as a Chapter Making a Difference by USLCA. We are honored to have our hard work highlighted. If you would like to help further the mission and goals of MLCA, please considering joining us either as a member or through volunteer work on of our committees.You can read more here!

Virtual Lactation Appointments - Tips for Providers

By: Theresa Moutafis, MA, RD, CDCES, IBCLC

Although telelactation has steadily been gaining traction, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an even greater need for families to receive professional lactation care while keeping in line with social distancing recommendations.

There is some good research on telelactation, and a simple Google search brings up many of these studies. In this article we are going to focus on the practical aspects of telelactation as many IBCLCs may be jumping into this for the first time.

Legalities, Legislation, and Licensure

Legalities and licensure are hot topics within this arena. This section will be upated as new information becomes available.

Resources

There are also a number of helpful resources for conducting telelactation visits. These include:

 

Let us know of any other resources that you think would be valuable to include here!

 

Practical Tips

Virtual consults require a slightly different set of skills than in-person. Below are a few suggestions and thoughts from my and others’ experiences providing telelactation services.

Keep in Mind:

  • You are not going to be able to get the best visuals. Encourage mom to have a helper nearby to move the phone or laptop for you to be able to get a better view of latch or baby’s mouth.

  • Have good lighting! Test this beforehand.

  • Encourage parents to send photos or videos of whatever they feel is relevant beforehand, whether it be a feed, pumping session, questionable tongue tie, etc.

  • Remind parents to try not to feed before the appointment starts - we need a visual on that feed if at all possible! I’ve found that many moms make sure baby is settled in and sleeping soundly so they can have an uninterrupted consult, without realizing that it defeats the purpose and inhibits our assessment.

  • Pay extra attention to your counseling skills. We don’t have the benefit of full body positioning and language for cues, so it’s important to listen and observe carefully.

  • Have all your demonstration tools at the ready - I’ve had to run out of the room multiple times to grab a baby doll!

  • Make sure your internet connection is good and that all technology works beforehand.

  • Have a contingency plan for technical issues (call back, rescheduling, etc.).

  • Clearly communicate how the appointment will be conducted and ask what the parent’s expectations are for the appointment.

  • Take notes, but let your client know you’ll be taking notes, as it can be disconcerting to see the provider looking off-screen. 

  • Try to look at the camera lens rather than the patient’s face on your screen, although this can be hard and unnatural to do.

 

We hope these are helpful, and please let us know if there are any other tips or questions that you have. Stay safe!

Special thanks to my Sonder Health telelactation colleagues Mary Unangst and Stephanie Johnson for their ideas and tips!

MLCA volunteers have gathered/shared this info and will continue to offer additional resources to support the work of IBCLCs in assisting breastfeeding families in MA through this pandemic. If you benefit from and appreciate MLCA resources please consider donating or volunteering now or when you are able. 

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