ROCKFORD – A nurse from SwedishAmerican hospital and with ties to Rochelle has been awarded for her initiative in helping newborn infants born exposed to opioids during pregnancy.

On Monday, Janel Mott, BSN, RNC-CLC, was awarded the Dr. Henry C. Anderson Quality Award. Mott is a nurse in the SwedishAmerican Mother/Baby Unit.

Each year, SwedishAmerican recognizes one individual in the health system who provides outstanding quality, achievement and education to patients and to one another. The award is named after Dr. Henry C. Anderson, a physician and healthcare leader who was dedicated to SwedishAmerican’s heritage of quality excellence for more than 50 years. He joined the medical staff at SwedishAmerican as a primary care physician in 1955. After 34 years of practicing medicine, he joined the administrative staff at SwedishAmerican, where he served as Vice President of Professional Affairs and Chief Quality Officer.

This year’s recipient, Mott, championed the Eat, Sleep, Console (ESC) initiative to help infants exposed to opioids during pregnancy. Before ESC was implemented, hospital stays for the infants averaged 14 days, often including a stay in the NICU. In addition, pharmacologic interventions were used to manage withdrawal and breastfeeding rates were decreased.

“Implementing ESC at SwedishAmerican Hospital was hard work but an easy decision to make. It's the right thing to do for infants exposed to opioids during pregnancy,” Mott said. “I'm so passionate about this project because seeing these babies stay with their mothers and not needing the medications we were giving them is incredible. I work for an amazing organization that supports their employees in taking evidence based research and turning it into practice.”

 The ESC initiative keeps the infant in the Mother/Baby Unit for four to seven days with parents and care providers rooming with the infant. Eating, sleeping and consoling are the first line of treatment, and mothers are allowed to continue to breastfeed.

Mott successfully implemented ESC by working to gain provider approval, collaborate and develop the policy, provide education, develop an ESC tool to use, change the infant order set and to get Cuddlers signed up in the unit to hold babies as needed. During the first six months after making the changes, the length of hospital stay for the babies was reduced to 7.75 days.

“The eat/sleep/console program has changed the way care is being provided to these babies,” said Ann Gantzer, SwedishAmerican Vice President, Patient Services and Chief Nursing Officer. “Janel provided the education, worked to ensure the processes were understood, and monitored the care provided for the babies. She is a true advocate for the moms and babies receiving care on the Mother/Baby Unit.”

Mott is the daughter of Dave and Barb Kinn, of Rochelle, and a 1999 graduate of Rochelle Township High School.