Will County Health Department prepares to open breast milk donation depot

Joliet — The Will County Health Department has announced a new partnership with Mother’s Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes to bring a human milk drop-off to Joliet.

According to the announcement from the health department, the partnership was created to “increase access for approved donors and families in the area to donate lifesaving, critical nutrition for pediatric patients in need.”

The organizations will host a grand opening for the new drop-off depot, located at the Will County Health Department facility at 501 Ella Ave. in Joliet, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 9. The event will feature a latch-on event at 10:30 a.m., followed by an informational presentation on the milk bank at noon and a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at 1 p.m.

The event also will feature raffles, a photo booth and kid-friendly activities.

“The benefits of breastmilk are endless, and the need for donor milk is substantial,” Diana Visvardis, who serves as the program manager of WIC at the Will County Health Department, said in the release. “We wanted to be part of the solution and offer Will County a convenient local site for local donors to be able to drop off their milk. Becoming a milk depot also allows for breastfeeding promotion and awareness in our community.”

The new facility will accept milk donations from healthy, lactating women who are screened and approved as donors through Milk Bank WGL.

Upon collection, donations are taken to the milk bank’s processing facility in Elk Grove Village, where the milk is pasteurized like store-bought dairy products to prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria, according to the health department.

The milk is then tested by a lab and distributed to hospitals and patients in Illinois and Wisconsin, including hospitals in Will County.

Most of the donated milk is used in the neonatal intensive care unit and postpartum units of the receiving hospitals, although some can be bought by individuals for home use, according to the health department.

Interested donors and individuals looking for a milk dispensary for home use can learn more at the milk bank’s website.

“Donor milk is lifesaving for medically fragile babies,” Amber Barnes, clinical manager at the Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes, said in the release. “Many of the smallest patients’ care plans rely on this essential nutrition. The families that are able to donate this invaluable resource are superheroes, and the Will County Health Department establishing a milk depot is really an amazing community asset for our generous donors.”

Once open, approved donors will be able to access the Will County Health Department Depot from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, although donors are encouraged to check availability with the site before dropping off milk.

Residents with questions can learn more by contacting the Will County Health Department WIC program.