Alumni Spotlight: Mina Jasovic Ognajnovic (MHA ’23) Publishes Research On Lactation Access in the NICU

UCLA MHA graduate Mina Jasovic Ognajnovic, MHA, IBCLC, demonstrates how pairing frontline clinical experience with healthcare management training can solve complex operational challenges. As an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant at UCLA Health and Providence Health & Services with over 17 years of experience, Jasovic Ognajnovic recently published a pivotal quality improvement study in Breastfeeding Medicine, “Improving Access to Hospital-Grade Breast Pumps for Women with Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.” Her research directly addresses systemic administrative delays and financial inequities in obtaining hospital-grade breast pumps for mothers with infants admitted NICU.

At a large academic medical center’s Level IV NICU, Jasovic Ognajnovic identified a stark disparity in care delivery. While families with public assistance received essential lactation equipment within one to two days, privately insured mothers faced complex vendor hurdles, resulting in delays of up to three weeks and out-of-pocket costs for 92% of patients. Drawing on her healthcare management background, she spearheaded an interdisciplinary initiative utilizing Lean Six Sigma DMAIC methodology to audit the existing workflow. Her team clarified clinical roles, mapped local durable medical equipment vendors, standardized communication protocols, and established an onsite pump supply to eliminate procedural bottlenecks.

The operational redesign yielded dramatic, long-term results sustained across a 12-month evaluation period covering 200 NICU admissions. Out-of-pocket costs for privately insured families plummeted to under 5%, and median acquisition times dropped from up to 21 days to just 3.5 days. Beyond streamlining hospital workflows, Jasovic Ognajnovic’s published research highlights how insurance policy exclusions act as social determinants of health, offering a scalable blueprint that hospitals nationwide can adopt to advance equity and support NICU families when timely care matters most.

“What began as a frontline quality improvement initiative is now a published process that other hospitals can adapt to improve timely lactation support for NICU families,” she shared on LinkedIn. “This work reinforces that meaningful healthcare innovation often starts at the bedside. Frontline clinicians, including IBCLCs, are well positioned to identify gaps, build interdisciplinary partnerships, and create sustainable system improvements for patients and families.”

Access Mina Jasovic Ognajnovic’s study here.