Castleton alumna Rachel Foxx has dedicated most of her working life to serving Vermont’s women and children. After graduating from Castleton with a bachelor’s degree in Health Science in 2000, Rachel went back to school for her Nursing degree. Over the past 18 years, she has worked as a nurse on the maternity floor of University of Vermont Medical Center, as a pediatric nurse in an outpatient office in South Burlington, and is currently a postpartum nurse and an international board-certified lactation consultant at University of Vermont Medical Center.
Now, Rachel has found a new way to support Vermont’s mothers and babies as the co-executive director of the Vermont Donor Milk Center.
After discovering that 40 percent of Vermont’s newborns are having to supplement their feeding after leaving the hospital, Rachel and her former colleague Amy Wenger began looking for ways to help those families – many of whom seek an alternative to supplementing with formula. Many of these families are given pasteurized donor breast milk while in the hospital. But once discharged, they are often left to source it on their own.
“Both of us knew it was needed and necessary. We’ve both had women literally crying because they’ve had to supplement their feeding and didn’t want to use formula,” Rachel said.
The Vermont Milk Donor Center, which opened in early January, is a nonprofit organization that provides pasteurized donor human breast milk to babies in need across Vermont and northern New York. The milk dispensing site and donation drop-off is located inside Evolution Prenatal & Family Yoga Center in Essex Junction, and is the first of its kind in Vermont. Wanting to expand and equalize nutrition for newborns across the state, the center provides donor breast milk on a sliding cost scale for families with a doctor’s prescription and also offers lactation services.
“It’s amazing how quickly it came together after two years. It’s been really amazing. We expected to have to order milk once a month,” Rachel said. “We’ve already ordered milk three times. It’s been fabulous.”
Rachel, who is originally from Fair Haven, Vermont, credits her time at Castleton with giving her the confidence to explore various opportunities in the medical field, which has led her to where she is today.
“When I was at Castleton, I knew I wanted to be in the medical field, but I didn’t know how or where I fit in. I switched my major a few times, but when I found Health Science it touched on everything and I could go in so many different directions with that degree. If nothing else, it helped to show me how flexible I could be. It showed me that its ok to try a major and to know it’s not where you were meant to be and to be able to look and say ‘what’s the best thing to do and how do I get there?’” she said.
Today, Rachel’s work with the Vermont Donor Milk Center allows her to focus on the things she’s most passionate about.
“It’s women’s health. It’s babies. It’s breastfeeding,” she said. “All the things I care about.”
Photo Credit: Jane Lindholm/VPR
Read more about Rachel's efforts and the Vermont Donor Milk Center