Blog

Frontier Mourns the Loss of Dr. Michael Carter

It is with extreme sorrow that we share the news of the passing of Dr. Michael Carter, who served as Chair of the Frontier Nursing University Board of Directors from 2009 to April 2025. Dr. Carter’s long history with Frontier Nursing University dates to 2003 when he joined what was then the Frontier Nursing Service Board of Governors. For more than fifteen years, Dr. Carter’s leadership was marked by his determination, his entrepreneurial spirit, and his extraordinary passion.

“All of us at Frontier Nursing University are heartbroken by the passing of Michael Carter,” said FNU President Dr. Brooke A. Flinders. “Michael was respected for his excellence as a practitioner, educator, and leader. He was loved for his kindness, generosity, grace, and beloved storytelling ability. Dr. Carter will be terribly missed, but always fondly remembered. We extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Sarah, daughter Elizabeth, and their entire family.”

Dr. Carter grew up on a farm in Missouri and went on to attend the University of Arkansas College of Nursing, earning his Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1969 and his Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in 1973. He served in the United States Army Nurse Corp from 1968-71 during the Vietnam War. He earned his doctorate in 1979 from the Boston University School of Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Tennessee in 2009. He completed a Fellowship in Primary Care Health Policy with the United States Public Health Service.

Dr. Carter practiced as a family and geriatric nurse practitioner and served as the Dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing from 1982-2000. He held many teaching positions including serving as an adjunct professor at the Curtin University School of Nursing and Midwifery in Perth, Australia. He also worked to develop nurse practitioner education in Australia. In recognition of his expertise and dedication to nursing in Australia, he was made a Fellow of the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners.

Dr. Carter’s extensive list of awards and honors include but are not limited to: Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 1982; Outstanding Alumnus from the University of Tennessee College of Nursing in 2000; Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Student Government Association in 2005; Lifetime Achievement Award, National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties in 2015; the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019. Shortly before his passing, Frontier Nursing University selected Dr. Carter as the 2025 recipient of its Lifetime Service Award in recognition of his unyielding support over many years.

During his more than 20 years at Frontier, Dr. Carter was instrumental in many milestone moments for the university. He was on the Board of Governors when what was then known as the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing launched the Doctor of Nursing Practice program in 2008. Notably, he was the Board Chair when the university officially changed its name to Frontier Nursing University in 2011.

In 2017, under Dr. Carter’s visionary leadership, Frontier Nursing University made the pivotal decision to purchase property in Versailles, Kentucky, an investment aimed at expanding student access and supporting the university’s growth. That same year, FNU began taking applications for the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner MSN degree. Then, in 2022, after the completion of renovations and construction, Frontier held the ribbon-cutting ceremony officially opening the Versailles campus. Most recently, Dr. Carter initiated the successful search for and transition to FNU’s second president, Dr. Brooke A. Flinders, in 2024.

Dr. Carter was a staunch supporter of FNU over the years and provided many financial contributions to support students and FNU’s campus. In 2021, Dr. Carter, his wife Dr. Sarah Carter, and their daughter Elizabeth Carter, JD, announced a $500,000 donation to further the mission of FNU. The gift furthered Dr. Carter’s commitment and lifelong work to enrich the nursing profession across the globe.

“We are all deeply saddened by the passing of Michael Carter,” said FNU Board of Directors Chair Marcus Osborne. “His extraordinary leadership was exceeded only by his wisdom, kindness, and dedication to the care of others. The debt of gratitude that is owed to him is immense.”

It is through Dr. Carter’s vision and support that Frontier Nursing University has evolved into the remarkable institution it is today. All of us at FNU will dearly miss his wit, generous spirit, and unyielding devotion to our students and the nursing profession.

June 18, 2025
A Century of Stories: Mary Showalter, MSN, CNM

In 2025, Frontier Nursing University honored the 100-year anniversary of the inception of the Frontier Nursing Service. We are grateful for the alumni, students, couriers, donors, volunteers, friends, and employees who have made an incredible impact on FNU’s century-long journey. We celebrated this milestone year by capturing and sharing some of the countless stories that make up our history. Whatever your connection to FNU, we hope you enjoy these stories.

The story of the mission and founding of the Frontier Nursing Service in 1925 shines a light on the importance of providing healthcare to areas where there is little if any access to care. Mary (Strubhar) Showalter, MSN, CNM (Class 39) is among the many Frontier graduates who have been inspired by the mission to serve the underserved.

“I sensed a calling from God to work in medical missions,” Showalter said. “To do so, I believed I needed to have a good training foundation on which to build in order to serve others by ministering to their health needs. Part of that training included becoming a midwife.”

Showalter said that she chose to attend Frontier because of its community-based distance educational platform.

“It also was very special to me to follow in the footsteps of my aunt, Ruth Cressman, who had trained as a midwife with the Frontier Nursing Service in the early 1950s,” Showalter said. “Aunt Ruth was a classmate of and fellow graduate with Kitty Ernst.”

Ruth Cressman Strubhar was from Ontario, Canada. After her midwifery training at Frontier, she went to the Ozark Mountains and worked there at a rural mountain mission clinic in the Culp, Arkansas, area. There she met Clifford Strubhar, who was the mission farm worker at that time. They married and lived in Arkansas until Ruth’s death in 1955 from a pregnancy, birth, and postpartum complication. Their son, Curtis, was stillborn due to the pregnancy complication.

Much like her aunt, Showalter is committed to serving others. Her travels as a nurse-midwife have taken her to Paraguay, Haiti, Mexico, Liberia, Ghana, and Romania. In the U.S., she worked as an RN at Providence Newberg Medical Center in Newberg, Oregon, for 10 years, as a travel nurse for over three years, at Andaluz Birth Center in Portland, Oregon, for eight years and at Bella Vie Gentle Birth Center in Salem, Oregon, for five years.

For the past five years, Showalter has worked at the Growing Family Birth Center in Lebanon, Oregon, where she provides pregnancy and well-woman care. She has also shared her experience and expertise as a clinical instructor at the Walla Wall University School of Nursing for seven years.

Mary is married to Glenn Showalter, who was a widower with nine married children when she married him. They have 54 grandchildren and one great grandchild with two more expected in the summer of 2025.

>> Read More from “A Century of Stories”

June 12, 2025
Graduate Spotlight: Brandi Milton, NP-C, finds joy in holistic care with PMHNP

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to work with all people, with an emphasis on rural and underserved communities.

FNU graduate Brandi Milton, NP-C, has always been drawn to helping others. Inspired by her grandmother who was a nurse, she knew from a young age that she wanted to work in healthcare. Today, that passion has led her to establish her own wellness practice: Conqr Aesthetics & Wellness in Atlanta.

Originally from North Carolina, Milton earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later completed an accelerated BSN Program at Winston-Salem State University. She then went on to serve as a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) nurse.

While working in the PICU, Milton discovered that although she didn’t see herself remaining in a bedside nursing role long term, she had a strong passion for building meaningful relationships with her patients. As a bedside nurse, she was juggling heavy workloads and urgent needs which limited the time she had to connect with patients.

To build on her experience, Milton decided to pursue her MSN with a Family Nurse Practitioner specialty through the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Milton has now served as a nurse practitioner for 13 years, working in areas such as Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, Interventional and Diagnostic Pain Management, and Interventional and Diagnostic Radiology.

To further expand her expertise, Milton pursued a second specialty as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) in Frontier’s post-graduate certificate program. Milton said her decision to become a PMHNP was driven by the realization that mental health plays a critical role in every position she has held throughout her healthcare career.

“In every single specialty, mental health is woven throughout,” she said.

As a post-graduate student at FNU, Milton said she found a great support system of like-minded individuals.

“I have met and made friends with so many other providers. I went into the program as a post-graduate student, so it was different than the traditional students who were coming in for their first degree,” she said. “We had a really close-knit community.”

For Milton, the journey to embracing holistic wellness was one influenced by her family’s own experiences with health challenges. Milton’s late mother was diagnosed with breast cancer while Milton was a senior in college. She said watching her mother change her lifestyle and embrace wellness shifted her perspective on health.

“That’s when I really started to focus on the holistic side and the wellness side because I saw how her overall health outcomes improved when she made those changes,” she said.

Milton founded Conqr Aesthetics & Wellness in 2022. The business offers a comprehensive range of treatments designed to help patients achieve their aesthetic goals and enhance overall wellness. Treatments range from minimally invasive cosmetic procedures to personalized weight loss programs and revitalizing IV therapy.

Milton is committed to providing natural-looking results and personalized treatment plans tailored to each individual’s unique needs and goals. She plans to broaden the scope of her practice with the PMHNP certificate from Frontier. While she may be seeing a patient for one concern, her ability to assess mental and emotional health will allow her to focus on the full spectrum of a patient’s needs. Her plan is to add a concierge medicine component and on-call providers to her practice to bridge the gap between physical and mental health.

“I knew there was a need, and I knew that I could create a business where we treat the whole person,” she said.

Milton said that whether you’re just beginning a career in healthcare or advancing your education, it’s essential to find the specialty that brings you a unique sense of joy and fulfillment.

“Finding that area that brings you joy translates to providing the best patient care,” she said. “When you love your job, when you love what you do, your patients notice it.”

_________________

We had the opportunity to visit Brandi Milton and her aesthetics clinic in Atlanta during our Presidential Tour. Go behind the scenes with Brandi, President Dr. Brooke Flinders and PMHNP Clinical Director Dr. Susan Piper in this episode of On the Trail:

If you’d like to meet up with us this year, please see our full Presidential Tour schedule for events and more where we will be connecting with and celebrating the FNU community. To read more graduate stories, visit our alumni news page.

June 9, 2025
A Century of Stories: Maggie Wilk, DNP (Class 49), PMHNP-BC (Class 188)

In 2025, Frontier Nursing University honored the 100-year anniversary of the inception of the Frontier Nursing Service. We are grateful for the alumni, students, couriers, donors, volunteers, friends, and employees who have made an incredible impact on FNU’s century-long journey. We celebrated this milestone year by capturing and sharing some of the countless stories that make up our history. Whatever your connection to FNU, we hope you enjoy these stories.

Perhaps one of the positives that emerged from the COVID pandemic was a heightened awareness of mental health and an understanding of the need for increased access to mental health care.

Accordingly, FNU’s psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) program, which was implemented in 2017, has continued to grow and its graduates are contributing to the mental health care in their communities across the country.

Maggie Wilk is a two-time graduate of FNU, obtaining both her DNP and PMHNP-BC. She is a U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officer stationed at Perry Point (Md.) VA Medical Center working as a PMHNP.

“Mental health disorders among veterans are just as varied as in the general population, she said. “I have to be prepared to effectively manage complex situations like veterans with substance use and chronic medical conditions who also have comorbid psychosis, depression, anxiety, or mania. I regularly encounter veterans who need help connecting to social services such as housing or vocational services. I also use my nursing background to address health behaviors and interventions beyond medications. Many of my patients are dealing with chronic difficulty adjusting to civilian life after their experiences as active-duty service members. Many others deal with the result of traumatic brain injuries or physical injuries sustained in service.”

Wilk works in a fast-paced outpatient setting providing much-needed mental health care. She diagnosis and treats substance use disorders, persistent and severe mental illness, neuropsychiatric disorders, and more.

“I think mental health care in the United States is becoming more accessible but still has a long way to go in terms of stigma, primary prevention, and retention of practitioners,” Wilk said. “For example, I have some veterans well into their 70s who have never talked to anyone about their mental health symptoms before, including their family members. Additionally, it is not uncommon for patients to wait months for a mental health appointment due to staffing issues.

Wilk previously worked as a nurse practitioner resident at the Albuquerque VA Medical Center and was a psychiatric clinical research nurse at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center.

“In my day-to-day work, I work with uniformed services veterans from all walks of life who choose to access VA healthcare,” Wilk said. “As a USPHS officer, I serve the country by being prepared to respond to a public health emergency and promoting public health through federal agency work.”

Wilk has earned much recognition, including being named an American Psychiatric Nurses Association 2022 Board of Directors Student Scholar and receiving the 2021 NIH Director’s Award. But awards aren’t what drive Wilk to go to work every day.

“I chose to become a nurse practitioner because I was inspired by the compassion and expertise, I saw among my nursing professors and my mom,” Wilk said. “I decided to get my DNP to contribute to the growth of our profession and help prepare me to be a leader.”

>> Read More from “A Century of Stories”

June 6, 2025
Graduate Spotlight: Lauren Brannon, NP, FNP-C, champions accessible, affirming community care

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to work with all people, with an emphasis on rural and underserved communities.

FNU graduate Lauren Brannon has dedicated her career to championing accessible, affirming healthcare for underserved communities, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ community. Brannon obtained a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) with a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) specialty from FNU. Brannon practices at Atrium Health Primary Care Northcross Family Medicine in Huntersville, North Carolina. Patients seek her out due to her expertise in gender-affirming care.

Brannon’s career choice as a nurse practitioner was sparked by personal experiences that highlighted the healthcare challenges faced by marginalized communities. In her twenties, while living in New York City, Brannon became acutely aware of the gaps in healthcare for LGBTQ+ individuals. She said she witnessed firsthand how her friends, many of whom were trans, struggled to access necessary healthcare services.

“It just clicked for me,” she said. “I was like, ‘oh, I want to be the person who can actually make this happen.’ Because I just saw that it was really needed.”

Brannon deeply enjoys providing primary care to her community. “In my practice, I know our cultural norms,” she said. “I know our language, I know what our lives are. I just know there’s a different level of felt safety if you’re with a practitioner that’s from within your community. And I think it goes a long way. Community-based care is not just geographic,” she said.

During her first job as an NP, Brannon was precepted by an FNU graduate in the rural community of Troutman, North Carolina. By attending conferences, she gained the necessary skills to provide hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and played a key role in creating resources for administering these treatments at the local health center. Brannon and her collaborator shared their work by presenting at institutions like Wake Forest University, Yale, and GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality.

Over time, Brannon said she became known as one of the few nurse practitioners in the area specializing in healthcare for transgender individuals. Before joining Atrium, she worked with a startup focused on providing telehealth services tailored to LGBTQ+ patients. She said that although she has worked with various providers, many members of the LGBTQ+ community she treated in her previous practices continue to seek her care. She also expressed her happiness in seeing more providers who understand the needs of this population emerging in the area.

Though Brannon works in a traditional brick and mortar practice, her work does not stop there. Two days a week she participates in a virtual care program known as Community Virtual Primary Care, utilizing telehealth to provide care in places like churches, schools, and YMCAs. Tele-presenters—medical assistants—help facilitate patients with physical exams and collect vitals, while Brannon oversees the care remotely. This setup allows her to offer accessible healthcare to individuals who may not otherwise have access to traditional services.

Notably, during Hurricane Helene, Brannon and her team provided refills and other healthcare needs to people in her community who were affected by the storm.

Brannon said that FNU played a significant role in her professional growth. She noted the university’s strong reputation for excellence and its commitment to evidence-based and trauma-informed care as being important to her

“I really think that Frontier draws people who are purpose-driven and intrepid,” she said. “At Frontier, I met so many incredible people. And I definitely felt very validated because I was answering my own call.”

To read more graduate stories, click here.

June 3, 2025
A Century of Stories: Dr. Susan Graham and Dr. Jon Kucera

In 2025, Frontier Nursing University honored the 100-year anniversary of the inception of the Frontier Nursing Service. We are grateful for the alumni, students, couriers, donors, volunteers, friends, and employees who have made an incredible impact on FNU’s century-long journey. We celebrated this milestone year by capturing and sharing some of the countless stories that make up our history. Whatever your connection to FNU, we hope you enjoy these stories.

Married physicians Drs. Susan Graham, MD, and Jon Kucera, MD, understand the importance of quality healthcare and the challenging lack of access that many people face. Dr. Graham is a cardiologist and Dr. Kucera is an Internist. Both have over 35 years of experience and practice primarily in Buffalo, New York.

The couple have long been major supporters of Frontier Nursing University. Dr. Graham is a member of the extended Breckinridge family and, along with her husband, believes in the vision and mission of FNU.

“I have worked as a general internist, most recently in a Federally Qualified Health Center in an underserved area of urban Buffalo,” Dr. Kucera said. “The lack of primary care providers available to accept new patients into their practices everywhere has been painfully apparent. This is even more of an issue in rural or under-served urban areas, or if as a patient you don’t have insurance or have Medicaid or Medicare. I am proud to support FNU and its mission. As a top-ranked educator of graduate-level nurses and a champion of remote learning long before the pandemic, FNU is strategically placed to meet the health care needs of the future.”

“The FNU model builds on the strengths of the individual in their daily lives and local communities,” Dr. Graham said. “The students bring an understanding of the priorities and key drivers of health in their own practices. Working on methods and solutions is the immediate result of such shared experience. Health care barriers and patient needs have similarities across rural and underserved populations. Thus, with this focus and shared philosophy, the students, faculty, and alumni have a platform for communication, research, and advocacy. FNU graduates are energized, involved, and unafraid to think broadly, ask questions, and be part of new solutions.”

Financial gifts from Drs. Graham and Kucera have supported many FNU initiatives, such as student scholarships, the Kitty Ernst Midwifery Endowed Chair Fund, establishing the walking trail on FNU’s Versailles campus, and creating an endowment for Student Access and Success programs. Dr. Graham also lends her expertise as a long-time member of the university’s Leadership Council.

In 2020, FNU presented Drs. Graham and Kucera with FNU’s Lifetime Service Award in recognition of their longstanding support of the university and its mission.

>> Read More from “A Century of Stories”

May 30, 2025
A Century of Stories: Michael Steinmetz

In 2025, Frontier Nursing University honored the 100-year anniversary of the inception of the Frontier Nursing Service. We are grateful for the alumni, students, couriers, donors, volunteers, friends, and employees who have made an incredible impact on FNU’s century-long journey. We celebrated this milestone year by capturing and sharing some of the countless stories that make up our history. Whatever your connection to FNU, we hope you enjoy these stories.

Michael Steinmetz served Frontier Nursing University from October 2009 to August 2022, when he retired. He was hired as the Chief Financial Officer, then became the Vice President of Finance, and then Executive Vice President for Finance and Facilities. From August 2013 to August 2022, he also served as the Chief Financial Officer for Frontier Nursing Service, Incorporated, helping to oversee the charitable foundation’s planning and investments.

When Steinmetz came to Frontier, he brought with him the skills obtained over 25 years as a successful financial professional. A 1984 graduate of the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Steinmetz obtained his Master of Business Administration from the same university in 1985. He became a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant.

His talents and expertise led him to financial leadership positions with entities such as Coopers & Lybrand, Hitachi Automotive Products, Studio Plus Hotels, FKI Logistex, and Lexmark International, Inc., among others. Each of these opportunities prepared him with a breadth of knowledge and experience in a variety of domestic and international industries.

For nearly 13 years, Michael guided FNU’s financial matters with a steady hand and equal focus on both the present and future needs of the university. He guided the university through several milestones, including the identification and purchase of the Versailles campus. He subsequently oversaw the donations of the Hyden campus and Wendover Bed & Breakfast to Leslie County and to Betterment, Inc., respectively, to benefit Hyden and the surrounding community. He managed the budgeting of the renovations and construction projects to prepare the Versailles campus, some of which continued during the pandemic. His guidance and preparation helped minimize the potential financial hardships that the pandemic brought to many other universities and institutions.

Steinmetz’s broad financial and managerial experience made him a deft leader outside the normal constraints of a chief financial officer. He helped oversee the property management of the university and propelled the university’s mission to become a data-driven institution, leading the efforts to select and implement data dashboard and workflow systems.

For the many contributions that he made to Frontier and the lasting impact of his work, FNU presented Steinmetz with the honorary degree of Doctor of Business Administration, Honoris Causa, in 2023.

>> Read More from “A Century of Stories”

May 27, 2025
Jake Mearse: Navy Veteran Navigates a Unique Role as a Male Nurse-Midwife

Military personnel are known for their discipline, preparation, and commitment to service. As a former Naval Officer, Frontier Nursing University graduate Jake Mearse, CNM (Class 137), PMHNP, DNP, continues to display those same traits as he breaks down barriers in service to those in his community.

Today, Dr. Mearse is a certified nurse-midwife with his own practice, offering home births and clinical care in Midway, Georgia. Being a male nurse-midwife does not make him one of a kind, but he’s in rare territory. The American Midwifery Certification Board’s Demographic Report released in January 2024 found that less than 1 percent (88 out of 14,198) of all AMCB-certified midwives identified as male. There’s no data on how many of those 88 served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years, but it’s safe to assume it is an exclusive group.

“I’m third generation Navy, so that was kind of expected almost. That’s what our family does,” said Mearse, who grew up in Bend, Oregon, and joined the Navy when he was 18. “While I was in the Navy, I got into the medical field as a Navy Hospital Corpsman and served aboard submarines mostly in that role. Eventually, the Navy sent me to nursing school.”

The Navy’s Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program allows sailors and Marines to earn a nursing degree and become a Navy Nurse Corps Officer. Mearse utilized this opportunity to attend Hawaii Pacific University while stationed at Pearl Harbor.

“I had absolutely no interest in labor and delivery or midwifery or anything related to that,” Mearse said. “I spent most of my time as a nurse in the ER/trauma world. I loved the ER/trauma nursing. I was deployed in the Middle East a couple of times doing Mobile Trauma Bay. Once I got a commission, I worked as an RN full time.”

Mearse met his wife April in the Navy, and in 2004, they had their first child with the help of FNU graduate Michelle Munroe, DNP (Class 11), APRN, CNM, FACNM, FAAN.

“She was our midwife for two of our kids,” said Mearse, who now has seven children. “She’s the one who talked me into becoming a midwife. She pulled me aside during a prenatal visit and said, ‘I think you might want to look into doing this. You might be good at this.’ That seed that Michelle planted in my head just kept growing. Unfortunately, if you are a nurse and you’re a 6-1, 200-pound man, every time you say, ‘I want to go into labor and delivery’, they say, ‘That’s very nice, you’re going back to the ER.’ So, I had to do it on my own time.”

During his last few years in the Navy, Mearse used his accrued leave time to finish his midwifery training. He then entered the Navy’s “Duty Under Instruction” program in which participants stay in active duty while pursuing a degree. He attended the University of Washington with plans to become a nurse-midwife, but the Navy approved him for the psychiatric-mental health nursing curriculum instead.

“The whole time I was going through my DNP program studying psychiatric nursing, I was taking extra classes in women’s health, labor and delivery, trying to get as close into that world as I could,” Mearse said. “I wanted to be a midwife.”

Inspired by Dr. Munroe, Mearse approached FNU about enrolling in the nurse-midwifery program.

“Best decision I ever made,” Mearse said. “The biggest thing that was helpful with Frontier was the flexibility of the program. I was coming to them saying, look I’ve got my DNP in a field I don’t necessarily want to spend the rest of my life, and I’m active-duty military, so I’m going to have long stretches where I can’t do school and I’ll have to jump back into it. Frontier was the only school that said, ‘You know what, tell us what you need, and we’ll make it work.’ They were just incredible.”

Still, Mearse faced more hurdles before achieving his goal of becoming a nurse-midwife. He encountered significant pushback against the idea of a man being a midwife.

“On my very first day of clinical rotations, at my first clinical site, I was with a group practice, and one of the midwives in the group pulled me aside and said, “‘Just so you know, I don’t think men belong in midwifery. I do not want to help you. Please don’t ask me for anything.”’ It was a little discouraging Day 1,” Mearse said. “I had a very similar experience in a midwifery job that I took. One of my new partners pulled me aside and said, ‘I am not working with you. I am offended that you’re here. I don’t believe that men belong here, and I will do anything I can to get you out of here.’”

Mearse said that the only times he has experienced such gender discrimination, it has come from colleagues, not patients. He noted that patients who asked for a different provider cited cultural or religious reasons.

“For the most part, in my experience, patients don’t really care what your gender is. They just want to be taken care of,” Mearse said.

Mearse took a position at an Army hospital at Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia, and he and his family fell in love with the area. In 2002, Mearse opened Coastal Midwifery and Women’s Health, which was a success from day one.

“Before I had even advertised or even posted on social media that I would be doing home births, we started getting calls,” he said. “We got full really fast. Now we are at a point where we are having to turn moms away every month because we are full.”

Mearse strives to keep his schedule to five or fewer home births per month, and the clinic is open three days a week. At the clinic, Mearse provides full-scope gynecology and primary care, including IUDs, contraception management, and colposcopies.

To make access to care as convenient and accessible as possible, the clinic is open from 1:00 to 10:00 p.m.

“Our hours are based on what I remember being a dad in the military and never getting to go to appointments because all of the OB offices were always open 9-5 Monday through Friday,” Mearse said. “We decided to do things a little differently. We are open from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., and we do two weekdays and Saturday because we really want families to be able to participate. We want to make this as family-friendly as we possibly can.”

Accordingly, running the clinic is very much a family project. Mearse’s wife, April, who is also a Navy veteran, is not medically trained but attends all the births to provide support and helps run the clinic.

“People come to the practice because they want a midwife. They stay with the practice because they meet April,” Mearse said. “Our kids are getting older now, but April is kind of the surrogate mom, especially to a lot of these young military moms who are 20, 21 years old, on the other side of the country from home. She helps set things up and take things down, but her most important role is being a hand-holder and encourager. She has that experienced mom energy where she can hold a young woman’s hand and say, ‘I’ve done this seven times. We’re going to get you through it. You’re going to be OK.’ I love the fact that a lot of our clients will text April instead of me.”

Yes, Jake and April have seven children, who are also active participants in the clinic’s day-to-day operations. They strip the beds, clean, and prepare rooms for the next client. They also help interact with the other children brought into the clinic, which features separate playrooms for older and younger children.

“We’re largely a military community, and we will have moms come in for their appointment, and they’ve got other little kids and the dad’s deployed,” Mearse said. “Because we have my kids there to help, moms can feel comfortable coming into their appointment they can relax and do their appointment without worrying about what the kids are doing.”

Mearse schedules 60-minute time slots for all his patients, ensuring ample time for questions and discussions about their care.

“We want our patients to be able to ask questions and get to know us and us to get to know them,” Mearse said. “I love the fact that we have a lot of moms who will come in and just hang out in the clinic even if they’re not being seen that day. They just want to come and sit and chat and drink coffee and be there. It’s wonderful.”

As veterans, Jake and April are particularly excited to be able to offer care to a large number of military families.

“When we first started this, one of the commitments we made is that we were going to try and make this affordable for military families,” Mearse said of the military discounts offered at Coastal Midwifery and Women’s Health. “We are just 10 minutes down the road from Fort Stewart. Even though we’re not able to do this for free for military families – I wish we could – they end up paying sometimes less than half of what they would pay elsewhere. If we’re making just enough to break even, I’m fine with that. We’re able to serve these people that are serving our country.”

Mearse hopes to be able to offer even greater access to care soon. He plans to hire another nurse-midwife as soon as she graduates.

“Right now, we are turning a number of moms away each month because we’re full, so it will be nice to be able to take more moms because there will be two of us,” Mearse said. “I’ve been on call 365 days a year for three-and-a-half years now. It will be amazing to be able to take a vacation and leave the practice in someone else’s hands for a little bit.”

May 23, 2025

Request Information Apply Give Now