Sunrise Health Region would like to invite everyone to its 鈥淥pen House of the Yorkton Milk Drop.鈥� This event will be held in the main board room at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre on December 3.
The Yorkton Milk Drop is a human milk depot, housed on the maternity ward at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre. It is a location in which mothers in the community, who have been approved milk donors of NorthernStar Milk Bank, who wish to drop off their expressed breast milk. This milk is then delivered to the milk bank where it is pasteurized and dispensed to sick and fragile babies in the NICU and within the community. This depot is one of four depots in Saskatchewan; there are also two locations in Regina and one in Saskatoon.
NorthernStar Milk Bank was formerly Calgary Mothers鈥� Milk Bank. The organization announced its new name on November 24 as the agency had outgrown its name amid Canada鈥檚 demand for human donor milk. During the rebranding event, Yorkton was mentioned nationally as one of the 11 depots to help mothers in other communities donate their milk with greater ease.
This year Northern Star Milk Bank will dispense 130,000 ounces of donor human milk compared to 30,000 ounces when it first opened in 2012. This extraordinary growth demonstrates the increasing value given to human milk nationally.
鈥淩ight here in our community of Yorkton, people have demonstrated the value they place on human milk by how quickly we got a depot open and running,鈥� stated Heidi Russell, lactation consultant with the Sunrise Health Region. 鈥淲e started fundraising for a depot in June and by October we were able to officially start accepting milk from local mothers.鈥�
鈥淚t is through the dedication of all the volunteers including members of The Yorkton Area Parents for the Milk Drop and The Baby Friendly Initiative Working Group, and all the generosity from local businesses in donations and sponsorship, that we have a depot that can help store and transport this precious resource. We currently have had three local moms donate, and more ready to do so,鈥� Russell added.
The community is invited to join the region in celebrating this great achievement for Yorkton and to celebrate the moms and future moms that, through their dedication and compassion, are saving babies鈥� lives.
鈥淭he Yorkton Area Parents of The Milk Drop would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of the donors and sponsors that have helped make The Yorkton Milk Drop possible,鈥� said Alanna Armbruster, one of the members of the Yorkton and Area Parents of The Milk Drop. 鈥淲e鈥檇 like to express a special thank you to our major community supporters, including TA Food, Mosaic, Core Real Estate, Yorkton Plumbing and Heating, and the Sunrise Health Region.鈥�
