College of Nursing, Regional One to Offer Midwifery Care in Lauderdale County

Beginning in March, Lauderdale County residents will be able to receive midwifery care through the UTHSC Nursing Mobile Health Unit.

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center's College of Nursing is working with Regional One Health to bring nurse midwifery to Lauderdale County - one of many Tennessee counties dubbed a maternity care desert because residents there have no access to obstetric care.

The College of Nursing offers a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree in nurse midwifery and has a Nursing Mobile Health Unit that provides care two days per week for people in both Lauderdale and Lake counties. The Nursing Mobile Health Unit is funded with a $3.9 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to increase health care access in those counties, which are underserved.

Associate Professor Rhonda Johnson, DNP, APRN, CNE, c-EFM, CNM, FACNM, teaches in the college's nurse midwifery program and practices as a certified nurse midwife (CNM) one day each week at Regional One Health. Through an agreement with the hospital, Dr. Johnson will spend one of her practice days each month on the Nursing Mobile Health Unit in Lauderdale County. The nurse midwifery outreach to Lauderdale County is expected to begin by March of 2025.

College of Nursing Dean Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSc, APRN-BC, FAAN, FAANP, said, "This collaboration with Regional One Health can have a meaningful impact for these rural communities. Midwives improve the quality of care and reduce maternal and newborn mortality, and we are pleased to be able to improve access for these services."

National Rural Health Day is recognized this year on November 21, and HRSA is emphasizing the theme of "Advancing Maternal Health in Rural Communities." A certified nurse midwife provides advanced care to women with a special emphasis on pregnancy, birth, reproductive, and gynecologic health care. CNMs can make diagnoses, order and interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe medications, and manage normal physiologic birth. Most CNMs work in primary care sites such as a family or women's health practice and attend hospital births. CNMs may also work in birth centers or home birth practices.

In addition to providing care to pregnant people, Dr. Johnson can provide prenatal and postnatal care to improve overall maternal health outcomes. According to the 2023 March of Dimes Report Card for Tennessee, the maternal mortality rate is 41.7 per 100,000 births, compared to a national average of 23.5 per 100,000. Pregnant people in Tennessee also have a high vulnerability to poor outcomes, with substance abuse and poor mental health as the most significant factors, according to the March of Dimes.

Regional One Health is the only hospital in the Mid-South where women can deliver their babies with the support of a certified nurse midwife. "Regional One Health is a vital resource for women's health in our community, and we are excited to work with the College of Nursing at UT Health Science Center to expand access to women in Lauderdale County," said Angela Adair, director of practice operations for ambulatory women's services at Regional One Health. "We know that healthy babies begin with healthy moms, and we are delighted to help bridge the gap in obstetrical care and give expectant moms access to these much-needed services."

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.