By Marcus Fey | Project Leader
“Who do we call for help?” This is a frequent question during our 27 visits to rural hospitals this year. The purpose is to strengthen our healthcare network among the people who hear about infant formula needs and unexpected pregnancies first and communicate the resources available to them. We do these visits with a government social worker and a leader of the provincial health services department.
One thing that is clear, our infant formula program is a much bigger need than just a covid-era program. Every single hospital says they meet families who are feeding their children condensed milk mixed with water to save money. The hospitals want to help by providing formula to families most in need, but there isn't enough money in the budget to do so. Nurses sometimes chip in to buy a box of formula but don’t have the means to help everyone they’d like to. Working through trusted partners in local hospitals to provide formula the last few years has proven to be a great way to help families make it through a challenging time.
One family we helped recently had a newborn baby. When the father entered a meth drug rehabilitation program, she started working and lost her breastmilk. Her income was too low to buy formula. A relative was feeding the baby condensed milk and thanks to our program, we were able to bridge the income gap until the father completed his rehab program.
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