Abstract
LEAARC congratulates the Lactation Consultant Training Program on achieving accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). The program is a comprehensive Pathway 2 Lactation Consultant Training Program administered through the Metropolitan College of Professional Studies at Johnson C. Smith University, in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is currently the only Pathway 2 program housed at a historically Black college/university (HBCU).
The primary goal of this program is to help diversify the field of lactation to include more people of color, positively impact health outcomes, and help address breastfeeding and health disparities and inequities. Due to the complexity of the issue of racial/ethnic breastfeeding and health disparities and inequities, and the fact that the solution is multifactorial, the program is designed to increase the number of International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) of color. This evidence-based strategy to create more inclusive patient-provider relationships also helps meet the demand for diversification in the field of lactation.
Students receive a solid foundation in breastfeeding and human lactation through didactic education and clinical experiences, as well as public health and social work perspectives. Content considers equity, population- and program-based applications, the social determinants of health, and factors and barriers specifically affecting people of color.
The program was accredited on May 17, 2019. CAAHEP-accredited programs provide both didactic education and clinical experience qualifying their graduates to take the International Board of Lactation Examiners’ (IBLCE) certification exam through Pathway 2. There are currently seven CAAHEP-accredited lactation programs, with three additional programs in the application process. Criteria for accreditation are available at https://www.leaarc.org/.
RISE Project Assisting Pathway 2 Programs
LEAARC congratulates the Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute (CGBI) on being awarded a three-year, $1.3 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 2018. The grant project, Reclaiming, Improving and Sustaining Equity (RISE), aims to increase the representation of people of color employed and serving as certified lactation consultants in vulnerable communities. Under the leadership of Catherine Sullivan, the RISE project provides guidance to HBCUs in establishing lactation consultant training programs and achieving accreditation through CAAHEP The first program assisted by the RISE project was the Johnson C. Smith University program.
Over the 3-year grant period, the RISE project will continue to assist additional institutions of higher education that serve African American, Latinx, and Tribal populations in the Southern and Southwestern United States. While advancing the education of people of color, CGBI is also advancing the standard of education in the lactation consultant profession and building a sustainable model for institutions interested in establishing lactation programs that qualify for accreditation. LEAARC applauds CGBI’s commitment to lactation education and looks forward to continuing to work with programs guided through the RISE project.
