Children’s Medical Center of Dayton—Mari Jo Rosenbauer

Mari Jo Rosenbauer has been a Registered Nurse for 26 years. She has spent all of that time at Children’s Medical Center of Dayton (CMC) in the Level III-b Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Mari Jo began her career as a staff nurse and later became a transport nurse, working on a team that transported critically ill babies from area hospitals to the NICU. Currently a resource nurse and lactation consultant, she has impacted and positively changed the way babies are cared for at CMC. Through her efforts, babies who weigh less than 1500 grams are now exclusively given mother’s breast milk or donor milk at CMC. She was instrumental in having CMC selected as the collection site in southwestern Ohio for the Mothers’ Milk Bank of Ohio. Mari Jo formed the NICU breastfeeding resource team and updates policies on human milk using evidence-based practice. She provides information to staff on how to return to work and maintain breastfeeding; in 2011, CMC received the Ohio Department of Health’s Healthy Ohio Breastfeeding Friendly Award. She herself has served as a foster parent to more than 30 infants waiting for adoption placement. Mari Jo earned her B.S.N. from the College of Mount St. Joseph and her M.S. from Wright State University. She is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and holds additional certification from the Neonatal Resuscitation Program.