The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has been designated as a Breastfeeding Friendly Campus by the Portage County Health and Human Services – Division of Public Health and the Portage County Breastfeeding Coalition.
A certificate of achievement was presented to Chancellor Thomas Gibson by Lynn Frost, coalition chair, June 7.
Private, comfortable places to accommodate lactation needs of employees, students and campus visitors are available in six buildings on the Stevens Point campus with more being planned, and one each on Marshfield and Wausau campuses. In addition, popup lactation tents may be checked out to use for outdoor campus events or where access to campus lactation rooms is not easy. Specific lactation sites and additional resources are available at the Employee Wellness webpage.
UW-Stevens Point Employee Wellness has been working to achieve the designation for two years. Wellness grant funding from Employee Trust Funds Well Wisconsin program and several campus partners, including Facility Services, Human Resources, Academic Affairs leaders and the Student Government Association were instrumental.
“I saw an unmet need and an opportunity to support women on campus who need private places so they can continue to breastfeed their children while working or going to school. This fits perfectly with UW-Stevens Point’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusive support,” said Sallie M. Scovill, Employee Wellness program director and professor in the School of Health Sciences and Wellness.