APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) - The City of Appleton Department of Public Health has partnered with the Mothers' Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes to officially make its building a human milk drop-off depot in the city. The Appleton Milk Depot, located at the Department of Health building, is set to increase access for approved donors and local families who wish to donate to pediatric patients needing critical and lifesaving nutrition. Grand Chute Fire Department upgrades Emergency Medical Service systems Amanda Hatch, BSN, RN, is a nurse with the City of Appleton's Department of Public Health said it's a drop-off location, and that in previous years, donors had to travel to Green Bay or Oshkosh to donate. "It's important because with premature babies and infants in critical conditions, human milk provides antibodies for them that prevents infections they're susceptible to that could cause death," Hatch said. Donations are accepted only via an appointment, and those who wish to donate must be healthy, lactating women who are screened and pre-approved through the Mothers' Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes. Hatch said it's more convenient for local moms, which led her to advocate for the drop-off spot in Appleton. "I was on a Zoom call about a year ago learning about the milk bank work, and they said 'we need more depots,'" Hatch said. "I looked into it and the locations in the area where people could drop milk, and I thought 'we could do this here at the Health Department' to make it more convenient." Donors don't have to get out of their cars, and Hatch added that she hopes it helps those who already are donors, but those who might want to become donors as well. Donations are collected and transported to a processing facility in Elk Grove Village, a suburb of Chicago. The milk is then pasteurized, eliminating viruses and bacteria. The pasteurized milk gets tested by third-party labs and subsequently distributed to hospitals and outpatient centers in Illinois and Wisconsin. Some of the hospitals in Wisconsin are Aurora Baycare Medical Center and Fox Valley Hospital-Children's. “It’s not too late for vaccines”: Department of Health Services urges Wisconsin residents to get protected Approved donors can access the Appleton Department of Public Health Depot on Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. only with an appointment. Donations should be made after a direct call to the Department of Public Health. More information is available at the Mothers' Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes website.