Celebrating the opening of the new Milk Drop Depot location are, from left, Jessica Esquilin, MA, Adebukola Ajagunna, MD, Pam Bush, APRN, Bailey Leavell, APRN, Charley Oxford, PSS, and Tabitha Wheeler, PSS.
Families in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and the surrounding region can now support the health and well-being of vulnerable infants through the gift of donated breast milk.
Vanderbilt Pediatric Associates in Hopkinsville has partnered with Mothers’ Milk Bank Southeast to establish a new Milk Drop Depot location. Donations collected at the clinic will be transported to the Mothers’ Milk Bank Southeast in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where the milk undergoes a rigorous process that includes screening, pooling, bottling, pasteurization, and culturing to ensure safety and quality.
The processed donor milk is then distributed to neonatal intensive care units and mothers in need across Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia, helping provide lifesaving nutrition for premature and medically fragile infants. Donors are prescreened and approved to safely donate their frozen breast milk.
“This milk drop depot serves as a vital bridge connecting generous local families with the vulnerable babies who need donor milk the most,” said Adebukola Ajagunna, MD, Medical Director at Vanderbilt Pediatric Associates, part of Vanderbilt Integrated Providers. “We are deeply grateful for our partnership with Mothers’ Milk Bank Southeast, whose expertise in donor screening and milk processing ensures this program is both safe and seamless. By opening this site, we are making it easier than ever for local heroes to support our community’s tiniest members.
“Thank you to our dedicated clinic staff and especially the donors whose selflessness will help save lives, improve outcomes and nurture healthier futures for countless families,” said Ajagunna.
The Hopkinsville Milk Drop Depot removes a significant barrier for mothers who may have an excess supply of breast milk and want to donate but lack a convenient collection site.
“We are incredibly grateful to Vanderbilt Pediatric Associates in Hopkinsville for opening a Milk Drop Depot and becoming an important part of our donor milk network,” said Amy Stokes Painter, Executive Director of Mothers’ Milk Bank Southeast. “This new location makes it easier for mothers in Hopkinsville and surrounding communities to donate their excess breast milk while reducing barriers that can sometimes make donation difficult. More importantly, this partnership represents another layer of support for families and helps ensure that vulnerable infants have access to the nutrition they need to thrive.”
Mothers’ Milk Bank Southeast is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing safe, pasteurized donor human milk to the most vulnerable babies. Through partnerships with hospitals, health care providers and community organizations, the milk bank works to expand access to donor milk and improve outcomes for infants across the region. In addition to the new milk drop depot in Hopkinsville, there is a depot located at Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital.
