Healthcare Leaders from Northern, Central, and Southern Lao Provinces Visit LFHC to Learn About Nutrition Practices – A Visit Facilitated by LuxDev LAO/035 Initiative
Provincial Healthcare Leaders from Four Lao Provinces Visit LFHC to Learn About Nutrition Practices and Laos' First Human Milk Bank
Healthcare leaders from Khammoaune, Bokeo, Bolikhamxay, and Vientiane Province recently visited Lao Friends Hospital for Children (LFHC) to learn about its nutrition practices. This two-day visit focused on observing LFHC’s practices on maternal nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and its ground-breaking Milk Bank—the first of its kind in Laos.
This visit was set up thanks to LuxDev's Lead Nurse Advisor, Matt Evans, a former Nursing Director at LFHC. Having previously worked at LFHC before, Matt recognized the opportunity for LFHC to share its achievements and implementation methods on nutrition practices, so that other healthcare facilities across the country can learn from it and adopt best practices into their own settings.
“I know first-hand the excellent work that the multidisciplinary team at LFHC do to improve paediatric nutrition practices, and I wanted to show this to my counterparts in the four provinces LuxDev supports. I think this visit has the potential to generate new ideas about how to implement best practices for breastfeeding, nutrition education and treatment of malnutrition”. Matt Evans (LuxDev Lead Nurse Advisor) .
The group’s visit involved meeting with LFHC's Nutrition team and observing LFHC’s nutrition practices in multiple hospital settings, including the Inpatient Department, Outpatient Department, and Neonatal ICU, giving them a comprehensive picture of LFHC’s approach to pediatric nutrition.
"I was impressed in what I observed at LFHC," said Dr. Chanhome (Deputy Director, Vientiane Provincial Hospital). "Their approach to maternal nutrition and breastfeeding follows international gold standards and is applied systematically throughout the hospital. I was particularly impressed with how their staff educate mothers about the importance of breastfeeding and seeing parents in the NICU actively engaged in ‘Kangaroo Mother Care’”.
Interview with Dr Chanhome (Deputy Director of Vientiane Provincial Hospital)
They also met with the hospital's Milk Bank Specialist team to gain insights into the set-up of Laos' first ever human milk banking service, a pioneering initiative that was started to tackle the critical nutritional needs of vulnerable infants. The group witnessed first-hand the rigorous training required for safe milk handling, quality control documentation, and proper storage protocols that maintain both hygiene and nutritional value.
"The milk bank at LFHC is something we would like to implement in our own hospital in the future," Dr. Chanhome added. "We understand this will take time and resources but seeing it in operation has made it a concrete goal as we can see it is working."
Dr. Chanhome confirmed that this visit would not be a one-time event, stating, "We're already planning to send relevant staff for further training at LFHC to help us implement certain practices we've observed here in our own hospital." Matt added, Our team of Nurse and Midwife Advisors plan to conduct regular online meetings with staff at each of the four hospitals to share their progress and further ideas on how to improve nutrition services.”
This ongoing collaboration between LFHC and the provincial hospitals, thanks to the coordinating assistance of LuxDev, is a fantastic step towards strengthening pediatric healthcare networks in Laos.
LFHC continues to serve as a center of excellence and training center for healthcare facilities throughout the entire country. As the team return home to their respective provinces, we hope that ideas have been planted, and the ripple effects of this knowledge exchange will contribute to improving nutritional care that is being delivered to children throughout the country.
