NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A big donation will help some of the smallest and sickest babies.
Anthem HealthKeepers Plus stroked a large check to the CHKD Milk Bank, the only human milk bank in Virginia.
The milk is not just food for babies. It is prescribed medicine and the Milk Bank at CHKD provides this medicine to premature and sick babies up and down the East Coast, from New Jersey to Florida.
Anthem’s donation of $50,000 will help keep the milk flowing.
“It’s incredible,” said CHKD Milk Bank Director Ashlynn Baker. “It’s gong to help us reach so many more babies.”
Milk Bank employees collect, process, pasteurize and dispense donated breast milk to the most fragile babies.
“Our donors come from New Jersey to Florida,” Baker told WAVY. “We have to overnight their milk, frozen, which is quite expensive.”
It’s a mission Anthem Healthkeepers Plus, Whole Health Director Jamie Dixon said falls right in line with Anthem’s focus on maternal child health.
“I honestly was Googling, yeah, I was actually Googling ‘milk banks in Virginia’ and found out CHKD has one right here and learned all about what they do,” Dixon said.
Once she found it, she connected with Baker to learn more. Dixon was impressed with the operation and its mission, which provides food as medicine.
Breast milk, with its growth hormones, antibodies, proteins and fats, can prevent NICU babies from going blind, getting lung disease and protects against necrotizing enterocolitis, the number one killer of preemies.
“Not all babies have the same chances at life, so it’s important for us to find resources within Virginia to be able to help improve as much as we can,” Dixon said.
The Milk Bank is always in need of milk donations. If you are a breastfeeding mom with extra milk, or a mom who has recently suffered the loss of an infant and would like to donate your milk to help sick babies, you can find out more here.
