Martin County Healthy Start Coalition now provides an exemplary Family Leave policy for employees

PALM CITY, Fla. - July 20, 2018 - PRLog -- STUART – On the silver anniversary of the Martin County Healthy Start Coalition, employees are receiving a gift worth more than its weight in gold – paid parental leave.

After 25 years of serving area expectant mothers and babies, the Martin County Healthy Start Coalition is now offering paid time off to mothers and fathers to bond with their babies in that all-important first year of life.

In doing so, they've joined the ranks of such private industry giants such as Google, Amazon, Apple and Coca-Cola, which have instituted paid parental leave with an eye on retaining good employees. Paid family leave is a rare perk. According to a recent article in Bloomberg News, only 15 percent of U.S. employees in the private sector were given family leave in 2017.

Samantha Suffich, executive director, said paid parental leave seemed to be an "important missing piece" of Healthy Start's own organization structure, which was founded on the principle that having a healthy start to life is most helpful to mothers and babies.

Also, just in time for Breastfeeding Awareness Month in August, Healthy Start now has a lactation break policy, so mothers returning to work can breast-feed their babies or take time to pump their breast milk in a private place.

Medical experts agree that breast milk is superior to formula in many ways – breast milk is a nearly perfect food for the infant, provides antibodies that fight viruses and bacteria, and lowers the baby's risk of having asthma or allergies. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommend giving breast milk ONLY – not even water -- for a baby's first six months of life before introducing other foods.

The federal Family Medical Leave Act, which provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave to expectant parents, doesn't apply to organizations like Healthy Start, which has fewer than 50 employees and therefore isn't legally bound to offer any time off. But Suffich says even small organizations can find a way to work in a parental leave policy.

"It's important to be a role model for the community, so others can see that it is feasible," Suffich said. "And that an organization can find a way to handle the workload, even with one person out on maternity leave."

Aubrey Campbell, Healthy Start's operations manager, touts the benefits of the new policy. She was the first employee to use it. "As a working mother, I cannot stress enough how much relief it gives me, not only to take the time off to heal and bond with my infant, but also not to have to worry about a paycheck for six weeks," she said.

On Sept. 22, the organization's major fundraiser, Dancing with the Martin Stars, will be held at the Lyric Theatre. Seven amateur dancers will train and then perform with professional dancers to compete for the Overall Winner prize. Fundraising is also a factor of their total score.

The mission of Martin County Healthy Start Coalition is to ensure that every Martin County baby is born healthy. Programs include: Healthy Start Risk Screening; Care Coordination; Health Navigation; Prenatal Outreach Center; Childbirth, Breastfeeding, Nutrition, Pregnancy, and Parenting Education; Psychosocial Counseling; Beds 4 Babies; Prenatal and Dental Care; Infant CPR & First Aid; and Inter-Conception Education. For more information about Healthy Start, please visit their website at www.mchealthystart.org