Physician of the Year: 2010
By Cindy Griffis, IBCLC, President of PRO-LC
Every year, Pro-LC awards its' highest honor to a physician who exemplifies "outstanding advocacy which supports, promotes, and protects breastfeeding." This year we had some amazing candidates and the decision was not an easy one for the board.
It brings me great pleasure to introduce Dr. Kelly Wade, as the Pro-LC Physician of the Year for 2011. Dr. Kelly Wade is Assistant Professor of Newborn Care at Pennsylvania Hospital, responsible for academics and policy. She is also an attending neonatologist at Pennsylvania Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Wade graduated from the University of California, and Yale School of Medicine. She did her pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital in Boston and a fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Nominated by Debi Ferrarello, Dr. Wade partnered with nursing and lactation consultants to create an education module for breastfeeding support in the NICU and is seeing an increase in the number of women able to sustain breastmilk production throughout their NICU stay. She is also improving exclusivity rates by advocating for unnecessary supplementation of the breastfed infant. Dr. Wade supports mothers by educating healthcare providers on the use of medication in breastfeeding women. She is currently conducting research on breastfeeding the infant with a positive drug screen, with the goal of providing consistent evidence-based practice.
Dr. Kelly Wade breastfed 2 sons, and became personally aware of the tremendous support available to a mother through the lactation consultant. Quoting Dr. Wade, "she credits lactation consultants for their ability to understand her frustration, problem-solve in an optimistic and non-judgmental manner, and for their endurance to help beyond the first few days of life." She credits this experience with making her a better physician, and it inspires her to work in collaboration with lactation consultants as valuable team members in the support of breastfeeding couplets.
Dr. Wade will receive a lifetime membership in Pro-LC, a one year subscription to ILCA and to the American Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine. She receives a 2010 copy of Medications and Mother’s Milk and The Green Book on breastfeeding management. Congratulations to our winner of the 2010 PRO-LC Physician
of the Year Award:
PRO-LC Physician of the Year 2010
Dr. Kelly Wade
