Silver Spring, MD – Frances E. Likis, DrPH, NP, CNM, of Nashville, TN, received the 2009 Kitty Ernst Award, one of the most prestigious honors awarded by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), during ACNM’s 54th Annual Meeting & Exposition in Seattle, WA.

“Francie’s energy and enthusiasm are clearly evident in her day-to-day work. In just nine years, her contributions to midwifery have been noted and applauded by her peers, including her work on an award-winning text, Women’s Gynecologic Health, and authorship of several journal articles and book chapters. She personifies the spirit and drive of a midwife. In addition to her educational and research efforts, Francie is also noted as a dynamic speaker among women’s health care professionals,” said ACNM President Melissa Avery, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN. “She demonstrates the vision, leadership, and creativity of a Kitty award recipient.”
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On May 21, over 1,000 midwives and women’s health care professionals converged in Seattle, WA for the 54th Annual Meeting of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.  The Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing continued its efforts to embrace students, alumni and colleagues by operating an exhibit booth during the conference.  “Baby Catcher” t-shirts along with “A Midwife Helped Me Out” youth tees were available for sale at the booth along with Frontier stuffed plush horses, historical photo note cards and the new photo book from Harriette Hartigan.  Sales for all items was brisk (certain sizes of the Baby Catcher tee sold out).  Interest in the DNP program was also steady throughout the course of the event as many practicing midwives weigh their future educational options.  Many with whom I spoke made it clear that Frontier would be at the top of their list if and when they choose to further their education. In what has become a rallying event for Frontier faculty, alumni, students and preceptors, this year’s ACNM conference proved that Frontier sends the largest contingent of attendees each and every year, no matter the location.  Traffic to the Frontier booth was steady as old friends and colleagues gathered to relive Frontier memories and discuss the exciting future of their school. For those of you on Facebook, pictures from the ACNM exhibit and reception are available at the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing fan page (366 fans and growing rapidly).  Pictures will also be uploaded to our Winkflash account.

CONGRATULATIONS Frontier Student! Susan Tripodi, CFNP Class # 63 was just notified recently that she won a $10,000 scholarship through the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and will be traveling to San Diego in October to the awards ceremony. Great Work Susan!

On May 13th, expectant mothers, birth advocates and local professionals gathered at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington to participate in a live Internet Q&A with Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein, authors of the new book, Your Best Birth. Lake and Epstein, producers of the popular 2008 film, The Business of Being Born, answered questions from groups around the country via live chat and email about topics involving the midwifery model of care, breastfeeding, the role of doulas, fear and pain coping methods and the birthing process. An impassioned and often exuberant duo, the authors relayed details from their experiences between the release of the film and the book, including their own birth stories. The book, subtitled “Know All Your Options, Discover The Natural Choices and Take Back the Birth Experience” urges expectant mothers to be informed about the birthing process and make informed decisions about their birth plan. Read the rest…

Penny Lane, Class 40 CNEP, received the Nurse Advancement Award. Read about her reactions to this award on her blog by clicking the link below! Congratulations Penny!!

http://livinglifewiththelanes.blogspot.com/2009/04/nursing-advancement-award.html

The National Student Nurses Association conference convened in Nashville TN with a reported 3,100 students in attendance.  Interest for Frontier was swift during the first day with many students stopping by to pick up promotional materials or drop their names off to request more information about Frontier’s programs.  In all, well over 100 students requested to be contacted by Frontier representatives.  Day two saw a steady stream of interested students visit the Frontier booth, with many choosing to stay and chat without feeling as rushed.  The overwhelming majority of students I spoke to were interested in midwifery and was especially intrigued by the women’s health care completion program beyond the midwifery MSN.  Most students I spoke to were BSN students expecting to gradate this May, but the interest from the ADN students that I spoke to was strong for the Bridge program.  Those students were very glad to hear that we had added the Bridge program and typically submitted their names to receive more information.

Brett Morris

The following Editorial was written by Robin Jordan and published in the Petoskey News Review…

I want to thank the News Review for the insightful and informative article on home birth in the Northern Michigan area. It is easy to reflexively believe that hospital birth is safer for all childbearing women. Here are some interesting points to consider regarding birth safety. The US ranks 27th among developed countries in terms of infant mortality rates. According to the Save the Children’s “Mother’s Index”, the only other industrialized countries performing worse than the US are Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

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Our birth center was just featured in the Mother’s Day issue of a local Women’s magazine. They did an excellent job incorporating some of the Milbank and LaMaze stats and recommendations into the writing. Here’s a link- you can just turn the pages as though reading a magazine:

http://bluetoad.com/publication/?i=15074

This is an easier-to-read online format, but doesn’t include the side-bar info about the cost of c-sections etc:

http://www.wisconsinwomanmagazine.com/Cover_Story.html

I’m always grateful when the media gets the message right, and I’m really pleased with this article. There was only one factual thing, which you guys will be able to pick up, but almost no-one else would. Let me know what you think. I’m always open to feedback for better ways to present this information. I did have to chuckle at the longest run-on sentence ever quoted, but as my hubbie pointed out, “that’s how people actually talk sometimes”.

The Needlerock Mobile Health Clinic, operated by Jenny Mitchell of Crawford, has formed a 501(c)(3) non-profit and has a new board of directors.

The new board is made up of Mitchell, who is the CEO; Dr. Ken Eckstein, vice president; Tamara Hauze, member; Cheryl Hurst-Page, grant writer; Jolie Clark, secretary; Liz Sawatzky, member; Lynn French, member; and Becky Burris, treasurer. A president of the board has not been elected yet, but Mitchell said Hauze is considering the position.
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2008 Catholic Charities Board of Directors Community Service Award winners: HealthEast Midwives.

Rebecca Barroso is an early CNEP graduate (Class # 4) making a difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8qwELPuiR8