I would like to first congratulate each of you who have been nominated. You all deserve this recognition for making such a difference in our communities throughout the state, thank you.
It is time to start passing the word about whom our nominees are and to begin the voting for our two recipients.
Every BMV member is allowed to vote for two nominees and we will base the award winners on the highest numbers received, remember you must be a member to vote (join now)
Voting: Please email your votes to me privately at [email protected], not on the group email. Include your first and last name, this is for verification purposes of your membership
The deadline for voting is midnight October 15th and the winners will be announced no later than October 22nd.
As a reminder, purchase your tickets now for this wonderful event, Sunday November 7th, 2010 1PM -5PM. Come celebrate our award winners, listen to Dr Stacy Marie Kerr speak, participate in our silent auction full of excellent items & services, as well as giving your support to Birth Matters Virginia
Please feel free to forward this email posting
The Nominees Are....
Diane Sampson, Education Director at UVA Medical Center, Charlottesville
Diane has been instrumental in making UVA Hospital become a more mother and baby friendly facility with each passing year. As the Education Director, she
has been a childbirth educator for more than 10 years in the community. She has
sent out weekly emails to pregnant women who elect to be on her list, I was
on one of those lists about 8 years ago! She has helped to bridge the gap between
patients and doctors beautifully helping care providers see the benefits of encouraging women to have doulas at their births.
Over the past few years, she has been organizing the O Baby! Educational Event which takes place twice a year. She is so open and very supportive of the ideas that come out of Birth Matters Charlottesville and has made herself available to come to some of our free educational sessions. As if Diane is not busy enough, she is now an IBCLC and has been providing lactation care at UVA in addition to her childbirth education. Her style is relaxed and understanding and she always seems to be smiling when I see her. She is a wonderful role model for women at such a sensitive time in their lives; she has personally inspired me as a mother. I am especially impressed at her ability to turn her advocacy into a career and be such a professional in all that she does. Her efforts at UVA touch many families a day; she is an excellent example of the power of one!
Jessica Jordan, CNM, Richmond/Kilmarnock
Jessica has had a long history of working with women as an educator, nurse, midwife and advocate. She has spent most of her years in Richmond where she attended births in the hospital and working towards expanding birth options for women as the facilitator for a pilot program birth center in Emporia, VA. She has been a main force in recent years behind the Virginia Chapter of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, legislative efforts in Virginia to “free” midwives (both CPMs and CNMs), and the establishment of birth centers under the Virginia Pilot Program for Obstetrical Care in Medically Underserved Areas. She has worked tirelessly to keep midwifery alive and expanding in Virginia at great personal cost. She has taken every possible opportunity to meet with
legislators and policy makers to educate them about the needs of women and newborns and the barriers that CNMs face in order to practice. As a member of the OB task force formed in 2004 she was apart of the development and passing of HB 2656. She initiated Centering Pregnancy group prenatal care in two outreach locations in the Northern Neck in 2007. She was involved in the program development and design of the Family Maternity Center and now holds the title of clinical director. Jessica was paramount in
establishing collaborative protocols with physicians and receiving OB pilot project approval from the Board of Health. Because of her leadership and dedication, the Birth Center became accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Birth Centers in May
2010, and the center opened its doors June 1, 2010. Through, the Family Maternity Center Northern Neck, she has worked to restore prenatal and delivery services to the area which had lost delivery services in 2004 causing all women to travel 85 miles to the nearest hospital. She is credited with reducing fears surrounding birth, promoting an optimal birth experience, reducing premature births and promoting healthy mothers and healthy babies. I can’t think of anyone else who has been more of an encouragement to me to “stay the course” for midwifery than Jessica Jordan.
Jennifer Kyzer, Facilitator Birth Talk, Richmond
When Jennifer was pregnant with her children she was surrounded by wonderful supportive women who helped her know her options and choices and helped to build her confidence that ultimately led her to a wonderfully empowering birth. As a result of that experience she created an amazing support group, Birth Talk. As facilitator of this twice-monthly group, women and their partners have found a place that has been instrumental in providing women birthing in the hospital; support, encouragement, confidence and education. As a doula I regularly recommend this support group to not only my clients but to all women looking for options and support. Families are able to hear positive birth stories and have open conversations concerning their options and choice of care providers. This group is accessible to all and facilitated respectfully and warmly. Jennifer’s creation of Birth Talk is an excellent example of how one woman, on a grassroots level, can create positive change within our community. For this reason I highly recommend Jennifer for this award!
Christine Isaacs, MD Richmond
Christine is an OB/Gyn MD is on the faculty at VCU Medical Center in the OB/Gyn Residency Program. She left private practice after the birth of her first baby to return to the public sector so she could be involved in the education of residents and to be able to offer a voice to those women who were not only wanting quality care but perhaps a more natural way of birth..
Her presence on the staff has done so much to help facilitate physiological childbirth at VCU. She encourages the residents to flow with birth in what ever position the mom might be comfortable, she supported and helped to facilitate Robbie Davis Floyd’s lecture to the residents after the Birth Matters VA event last year and also the one for this year. Christine is the liaison doctor for the CNM's and is totally supportive of what they do at VCU. On a personal level, she chose to have a home birth with her second baby despite intense resistance from the powers that be at VCU. One of the most important actions she has created and pioneered is an incredible family centered Cesarean Section. One mother’s experience follows: “The lights were dimmed. A CD mix my husband and I had made to welcome my daughter into the world which included songs as varied as Ani DiFranco, Neil Diamond and A Tribe Called Quest blared out of the CD player. My husband and my midwife were present for nearly everything. And most importantly, when my daughter was taken out of my uterus, she was handed directly to ME. And I was already breast feeding before Christine finished sewing me up. I had an amazing and spiritual experience in that OR.” Birth clearly matters to her, not only in providing excellent medical care but making sure that the mother, the baby and the entire family has an experience that they feel empowered by. It takes quite a bit of work to push the edges of all involved and make the changes happen.
Shirley Dodson-McAdoo, Executive Director Family Maternity Center of the Northern Neck
In 2006 Shirley Dodson-McAdoo was a "just a mom" finishing her women's health residency in the office of Dr. James Hamilton (OB-Gyn) to become an adult nurse practitioner. Her own children had been born with Dr. Hamilton but the local maternity center had closed in February, 2004 when offering birth services had become cost prohibitive. The Northern Neck became one of the unfortunate areas in Virginia without local (less than a two hour drive) maternity care. At the time she was working with Dr. Hamilton the State Legislature of Virginia passed legislation to support the development of two birth centers, one in the Northern Neck and one in Emporia, to replace the local, closed OB departments. Dr. Hamilton had been working with others around the state for three years toward the development of the legislation and the local task force needed a new champion. That champion was a motivated mother, named Shirley Dodson-McAdoo, who agreed to be the project director. Her energy and focus on the project brought new life to it and from that time until the Family Maternity Center opened in July, 2010 she was able to marshal support and develop grants to sustain the project financially. She also networked with private, federal, and state agencies to coordinate the further development of the Family Maternity Center, rallying the community around the center with fundraisers large and small (the first was a bake sale that raised $300). Her leadership, skills, and passion were paramount to the project's success and she continues to play a crucial role as the birth center's executive director. A birth center can change the culture of birth in a community. It is because of her enormous efforts and
accomplishments that the mothers, babies, and families of the Northern Neck have a safe alternative to birth.
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Margie Rickell, CNM, Richmond
Margie is a Certified Nurse Midwife at VCU Medical Center. In 2005 she committed herself to improving care for the women she serves by implementing the Centering Pregnancy model of group prenatal care, which enhances traditional care with peer support, empowerment and education for women; she serves as the Director of the program. Margie has been a tireless advocate for Centering, traveling nationally as a trainer for the Centering Healthcare Institute and jumping numerous hurdles in a large university hospital system to make the Centering program a reality for her patients and many other moms. She has helped to initiate and act as a liaison for many in service educational programs and speakers such as Robbie Davis-Floyd and this year, Dr Stacy Marie Kerr. These talks are for students and residents in order to bring a broader perspective of care for pregnancy and childbirth. She is endeared by all who have worked with her due to her gentle, loving energy and her expertise in providing care which supports moms in body, mind, and spirit as they birth their babies. She has accomplished all of this while still making time to be a devoted mother and grandmother (“Geega”) to her four children and five (soon to be seven!) grandchildren who live out of state and whom she misses terribly!!! Margie is truly changing the culture of birth in Virginia, both on a system level through her commitment to altering the face of prenatal care through Centering Pregnancy and on a personal level for every family she touches!
Jean-Gilles Tchabo, MD, Arlington
As the Chief of OB/Gyn at Virginia Hospital Center-Arlington and the director of OB/Gyn Education, Dr. Tchabo has been changing the culture of birth for women in Northern Virginia for years, with little recognition and often with a lot of grief from those not as comfortable with supporting true, undisturbed natural childbirth. Dr. Tchabo, over the years, has attended many vaginal twin births, vaginal breech births, and vaginal births after cesarean. He has backed up Birth Care & Women’s Health, the local CNM birth center and homebirth practice of fellow Birth Matters VA business members, Alice Bailes and Marsha Jackson. Dr. Tchabo consults with local CPMs and their clients as necessary, provides parallel care when needed, and also receives their transport mommas, as he is available to do so. Some months, Dr. Tchabo feels the heat of attorneys seeking to protect him from liability telling him not to provide backup to out-of-hospital providers. He does not complain about such. He just acknowledges what is going on at the time when his hands are being tied. And then not long after, you hear that Dr. Tchabo is back to supporting out-of-hospital providers again! Or, he may not be attending breech births one day, and then you hear of a vaginal breech birth he has just attended. Dr. Tchabo has residents and students attend births with him, so as he is attending births other doctors would not attend (vaginal twins, vbac, and vaginal breech), he is showing the future obstetricians that these births can be done! Thank you, Dr. Tchabo, for being a resource for the women of Northern Virginia, no matter whether they choose to birth with you or out-of-hospital!
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