Milk Express Site

Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center in Jasper, Indiana, is expanding its partnership with The Milk Bank. For over six years, Memorial Hospital has been a donation site for The Milk Bank’s approved donors, collecting over 32,000 ounces of liquid gold at its Milk Depot. Donations are sent to The Milk Bank to test, analyze, and pasteurize before dispensing to hospitals and outpatient families.

Memorial Hospital will now be a Milk Express site, effective May 1, 2023. Milk Express sites are convenient, community-based locations where families can pick up pasteurized, donor, human milk (PDHM) ordered from The Milk Bank. Milk Express can help bridge a small gap and offer parents a sense of relief.

“We are excited to announce that we will be embarking on a new journey as a Milk Express site starting May 1,” stated Erica Arthur, Director of Women and Infant Services at Memorial Hospital. “This new opportunity will enable our communities access to PDHM as outpatients. Previously this was only offered to our inpatients if medically necessary. Outpatient families previously had to travel to the Evansville or Indianapolis area to pick up their orders.”

The goal of the Milk Express site is to help breastfeeding mothers who wish to use breast milk exclusively bridge gaps with temporary supplies of human milk. Arthur explains, “Newborns born prematurely or late preterm are especially vulnerable. Providing these newborns with additional access to breast milk can help avoid infections and promote development.”

Freedom Kolb, CEO at The Milk Bank, shares, “We couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with Memorial Hospital to make this incredible investment in the community and make this safe source of nutrition readily available for families.”

A processing fee helps offset the layers of safety involved in providing a safe medical intervention for the most fragile patients. For babies who have a medical need, The Milk Bank’s Medical Relief Fund is available to help with the fee. Families interested in receiving pasteurized, donor, human milk can start the intake process at www.themilkbank.org/request-milk-families/ and mothers can start the donor screening process at www.themilkbank.org/donate-milk/ For more information, please call The Milk Bank at (317) 536-1670.

The Milk Depot and Milk Express sites are located in the Women and Infant Services Department at Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center , 800 West 9^th Street, Jasper, IN 47546.

About The Milk Bank: The Milk Bank is a non-profit tissue bank dispensing more than 400,000 ounces of pasteurized donor human milk to hospitals and families throughout the region every year. The Milk Bank improves health outcomes for premature and ill infants, fosters better health for children and decreases health care costs. The Milk Bank follows the strictest safety standards informed by the CDC and FDA and is a proud member of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA). Visit https://www.themilkbank.org to learn more.