Brookings Health System to Host Infant Adoption Training Initiative

  • February 27, 2012

Brookings Health System will host Infant Adoption Training Initiative for health care professionals on Thursday, March 22nd.

The training will be conducted by Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota, who is providing the training for free due to a state grant. It will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in hospital conference rooms A and B. Lunch will be provided.

The one-day curriculum is designed to assist health care professionals in providing adoption information and referrals to pregnant women on an equal basis with all other courses of action.

Skills taught in the training include:

  • Effective nondirective counseling techniques to ensure that information about all pregnancy options is presented objectively, without bias or judgment.
  • Increased sensitivity and understanding of the influences that both a birth mother and birth father may experience from family, peers, and community.
  • Increased awareness of available adoption-related referral resources and how to assess the quality and/or appropriateness of these resources.
  • Increased understanding of psychological and emotional reactions the birth mother and birth father are likely to experience when considering various pregnancy options.
  • Knowledge of legal issues pertaining to adoption.
  • Increased awareness of social, cultural, and personal influences with an individual patient/client.

For more information or to register for the training, please visit www.infantadoptiontraining.org.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed Brookview Manor nursing home, and Brookhaven Estates apartments. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, and extended care services. The emergency room is staffed 24 hours a day and provides around the clock medical-nursing care for patient needs ranging from minor injuries to life threatening crises. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.