A strong network of Frontier Nursing University (FNU) students, graduates and preceptors are spearheading a maternity revolution in the United States through their work at birth centers.
Birth centers (BCs) are health care facilities for childbirth where care is provided in the midwifery and wellness model. BCs are not hospitals, but rather freestanding entities integrated into the health care system and guided by principles of prevention, sensitivity, safety, appropriate medical intervention and cost-effectiveness.
The network of FNU students, graduates and preceptors working in BCs are supported through the Strong Start Initiative for Mothers and Newborns.
The American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) created Strong Start in order to support mothers throughout their pregnancies and postpartum. In it, each participant receives the direction and support she needs during her pregnancy to feel safe, secure and prepared to meet her healthy new baby.
According to a November 2018 report by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), women who received prenatal care in Strong Start BCs had better birth outcomes and lower costs relative to similar Medicaid beneficiaries not enrolled in Strong Start.
“In particular, rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, and cesarean section were lower among birth center participants, and costs were more than $2,000 lower per mother-infant pair during birth and the following year,” the report stated. “These promising birth center results may be useful to state Medicaid programs seeking to improve the health outcomes of their covered populations.”
The findings are evidence that BC maternity care has a larger potential impact on the reduction of preterm birth risk than any other recent medical or public health intervention, a sentiment that FNU closely echoes with its own holistic birth care values.
El Rio Birth & Women’s Health Center in Tucson, Ariz. has brought eight FNU CNM alumni onto staff. El Rio, situated on the U.S.-Mexico border, serves a varied and sometimes vulnerable population.
Director of Midwifery Services, Greta Gill, CNM, MSN, says El Rio’s community-based care model is what attracts so many like-minded FNU alumni.
“We are all mindful of the original mission of the Frontier Nursing Service,” she said. “We carry forth the tradition of compassionate and excellent care for the most vulnerable among us. Our outcomes are excellent and our patients love their care.”
El Rio nurse-midwife and FNU course faculty, Diana Jolles, CNM, PhD is responsible for creating opportunities for even more students and preceptors from the FNU community to participate in the care model at El Rio.
“FNU alumni are united by a shared vision and create community around that sisterhood,” said Greta. “Only another midwife can relate to the lifestyle, intense passion and huge fulfillment we get from this work.”
El Rio is just one of the 182 BCs participating in the Strong Start Initiative around the country.
“The Strong Start data has been affirming,” said Greta. “We now hope to see it drive decision-making at the health care policy level. Every woman deserves a midwife, and we want to expand access to our model of care.”
While the Strong Start Initiative has ended, the research shows that midwifery led care is important to the welfare of mothers across the nation. FNU encourages students to learn more about public healthcare models similar to the Strong Start Initiative through professional organizations such as American Association of Birth Centers or American College of Nurse Midwives.
“FNU students should leverage the network of alumni, preceptors, and graduates who are working in public healthcare models nationwide,” Dr. Jolles said.
As Frontier Nursing University strives to improve maternal health, we support the vast network of alumni, preceptors, graduates and students who are working in birth centers around the country. Together, they are impacting communities by bringing high-quality prenatal, birth and postpartum care to mothers and families. To learn more about the birth center model or find a birth center near you, visit BirthCenters.org.
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).