Shannon Medical Center Designated as a Texas Ten Step Facility

SAN ANGELO, TX – Shannon Medical Center, one of San Angelo’s leading care centers, has taken a giant step toward improving the health of newborns and infants, a step which earned Shannon Medical Center the Texas Ten Step Program facility designation from the Texas Department of State Health Services. This makes Shannon Medical Center the only hospital in the Concho Valley to be designated as a Texas Ten Step facility, said a press release.

According to the release, based on the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF’s “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding,” the Texas Ten Step Program aims to assist birthing facilities in their support of breastfeeding mothers before, during, and after delivery. The program also assists facilities in improving on national performance measures such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Breastfeeding Report Card. 

“This designation is important for our breastfeeding patients at Shannon,” said Stacie Elizondo, BSN, RNC-MNN, Administrative Director of the Shannon Women’s & Children’s Hospital. “It reinforces our dedication to support them in their choice and ensures we have prepared, well-educated staff available to assist them.”

Texas Ten Step facilities are asked to address 85 percent of the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding,” be designated as a Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite, evaluate their breastfeeding policies and maternity care practices, and educate all healthcare staff routinely with evidence-based courses.

The goal of the Texas Ten Step Program is to increase breastfeeding initiation rates to 82 percent, said the release. Shannon now joins a growing number of Texas birth facilities that are supporting new mothers and their decision to breastfeed.

“We have worked very hard to earn the Texas Ten Step Program designation,” said Elizondo. “We are proud to join the other select Texas hospitals in promoting breastfeeding to our new mothers.”