Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeanne Cygnus.
Jeanne, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started Cygnus Lactation services in 2002, as a small private practice helping breastfeeding moms & babies primarily through home-visits. I worked from the back of my home. In 2005, I rented our first retail office space for our office and became the first independent lactation clinic in Northern IL / Lake County. We’ve since expanded several times, and we now employ 4 lactation consultants (IBCLC) and 1 lactation counselor (CLC). We are a teaching clinic, helping up and coming IBCLCs get their clinical hours. We also work closely with the Mothers Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes as a milk depot (where previously screened moms can drop off donated milk) and will soon be opening a milk bank dispensary (where we can distribute processed milk bank milk to pre-approved recipients). We also have a small lab that can do breastmilk fat content analysis for breastfeeding moms.
I started LactCorp Solutions in in 2009, providing corporate lactation services to companies for their employees. Through our program companies can join our program and provide subsidized breast pumps (generally of much higher quality than insurance-provided pumps) to their employees as well as subscriptions to our lactation warm-line which provides direct contact with a lactation consultant to provide information and to answer any breastfeeding questions these families may have. We currently ship pumps and support employees across the United States, including Guam and Puerto Rico, and employ 7 lactation consultants.
Has it been a smooth road?
Absolutely not! 🙂
When I started Cygnus Lactation I was going through a quite unexpected divorce, while homeschooling two young children. Many of my early office locations / business decisions were made based on how I could still have my children with me, while running a successful business. There were many sleepless nights, but the results of how we pulled this off have inspired other lactation consultant to open their own offices. One of the biggest challenges has been setting ourselves apart in terms of quality lactation care by constantly upgrading our services and by working very closely with the Drs. in the area. When we started, most of the Drs. weren’t sure who we were or what kind of quality we provided. Over the years we’ve won them over with our thorough reporting, excellent skills, and our partnership approach.
We faced significant financial challenges in the early years, and there were more than a few times when payroll was paid by credit card advances. Thankfully, we’re a bit more stable at this point. For now! (Complacency is deadly!)
For LactCorp Solutions, many of the large, often international, companies we work(ed) with assume we are much larger than we are. It’s been a challenge sometimes to meet their expectations and provide excellent service, while in the beginning my barely-teen-aged son was the head of our “shipping department” and did all of our shipping! We’ve grown a bit from our humble beginnings, but it’s continued to be a challenge to meet corporate needs in a constantly shifting market place.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Cygnus Lactation Services and LactCorp Solutions – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Cygnus Lactation Services:
We are known for our unique approach — Unlimited rechecks. When a mom meets with us for her initial consult and assessment, we then also provide unlimited follow-up visits in our office at no charge for as long as she’s breastfeeding her baby — for any issue, including weaning, that comes up.
We also provide Breastmilk analysis (NOT to prove mom’s milk is “good enough” – we know it is! — but to provide specific calorie / fat content information that can be very helpful for Drs. to know when dealing with medically fragile babies.
We provide mentoring hours for up and coming lactation consultants.
We offer professional classes for other healthcare workers to keep them current in the field of lactation.
We provide classes, webinars, and various group meetings for moms in the community, as well as for our clients.
We handle all of the paperwork for insurance reimbursement for our services; something most other practices leave to the mom.
LactCorp Solutions:
Our telephone warm-line is staffed by excellent lactation consultants who can really give moms the most current, evidence and researched-based information.
We allow enrollees unlimited calls our lactation warm-line, whereas most corporate plans place a limit on the number of calls included with the package
We offer full customization of services and reported an any company that joins our program.
We provide unlimited support to each company to make sure they’re getting a program that best suits their needs, and they can change this set-up at any time.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
What I love the most ABOUT Chicago is the diversity. I love that we are the epitome of a melting pot of different ethnicities, cultures, and backgrounds, coming together to make Chicago a destination and home town like no other.
Pricing:
- Cygnus Lactation Services – Unlimited Consult plan – $295.00
Contact Info:
- Address: 1500 S Lakes St., Suite B
- Website: www.CygnusLactation.com / www.LactCorp.com
- Phone: 847-837-4091 / 847-477-263 (cell)
- Email: Jeanne@CygnusLactation.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CygnusLactation/ https://www.facebook.com/LactCorp/
Image Credit:
Jeanne Cygnus
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
