INDIANAPOLIS — Ascension St. Vincent has partnered with the Milk Bank to become a Milk Depot -- increasing access to lifesaving breast milk for Indiana babies.
The Milk Depot provides a stable supply of pasteurized donor milk for babies who are born too small, too sick or too soon.
Feeding preterm babies a 100% human milk diet reduces mortality by 75% and decreases the risk of many complications, according to Ascension St. Vincent.
"It's something we rely on every day here in the NICU and it's paramount to our babies' health," said Dr. Melissa Leedy, a neonatologist and co-director the NICU at the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital.
As a Milk Depot, Ascension St. Vincent Women’s Hospital becomes a donation site for The Milk Bank’s approved donors to bring frozen breast milk donations.
Hospital staff will collect and store donated milk before sending it to the Milk Bank for pasteurization, analysis, and bottling. Then the Milk Bank will dispense the donor milk to a hospital or qualified outpatient.
On Monday, the hospital held a grand opening ceremony for the Ascension St. Vincent Women’s Hospital Milk Depot.
The Milk Depot at Ascension St. Vincent Women’s Hospital will be open 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.
The Milk Depot will move with the Ascension St. Vincent Women’s Hospital as it transitions to the Women and Children’s Tower, currently under construction. When completed in 2024, the Tower will feature one of the largest Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Indiana with 109 private rooms.
Anyone interested in becoming a donor can start the process online at themilkbank.org/donate or by calling The Milk Bank at 317-536-1670.