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FNU Graduates Realize Dream of Opening Their Own Nurse-Midwifery Practice

March 15, 2021 By Frontier Nursing University

Not even a pandemic could end this lifelong dream. Going to school while working full time and raising a family didn’t stand in the way either. Some things are just meant to be.

That’s how Naomi Elizabeth Drucker, MSN, CNM, Bridge 138, and Lilit Baldjyan Sarkissian, RN, MSN, CNM, Class 143, felt when they held a grand opening for Los Angeles Midwives on December 16, 2020. The grand opening was virtual, but the building, the practice, the midwives, and their guests were all quite real. It was the fulfillment of a dream that Drucker and Sarkissian shared when they worked together as labor and delivery nurses at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.

“Even when I was a registered nurse, I knew I wanted to be a midwife,” Sarkissian said. “I saw that in Naomi and I saw that in me too. We never officially talked about where we would be today but we jokingly referred to starting our own practice. The reality of it happening sounded too good to be true.”

While they had secured office space in September, the December grand opening event made it all feel real. The event lasted approximately 90 minutes with a large percentage of the 75-plus RSVP’d guests dropping into the virtual event for at least a part of the celebration. Among those in attendance were doulas, nurses, and nurse-midwives. Among the many notable attendees were the President of the California Nurse-Midwives Association and FNU graduate Paris Maloof-Bury, CNM, Class 140; FNU graduate Shadman Habibi, CNM, Class 19, lead CNM with the UCLA Nurse-Midwives; and Kathleen Belzer, the President of the California Nurse-Midwives Foundation. Activities included a virtual tour of the facility, an introduction to the nurse-midwives, and some interactive games and conversations.

“The grand opening raised awareness among other midwives and birth workers so they have a clearer understanding of what we are doing and what we have to offer,” Drucker said.

One of the unique things that Los Angeles Midwives has to offer is in-patient delivering privileges at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, allowing them to provide midwifery care and services to their patients while having their babies in the hospital setting. Drucker and Sarkissian are the first CNM team to have such privileges at the hospital.

“Almost all of our clients come to us instead of another midwife because they know we have access to Cedars,” Drucker said. “For anybody planning an out of hospital birth, it’s very important to have a solid backup plan. We’re the only ones who can offer a seamless transition to the hospital without losing your birth team. That’s very important to all of our clients.”

Equally important to current and prospective clients is the strong reputation that Drucker and Sarkissian carry within the profession.

“Most of our inquiries are coming from a recommendation from doulas,” Sarkissian said. “Word of mouth in this business is so powerful because there’s a trust component. I trust my doula and my doula trusts you, so I’m going to trust you.”

Those connections with doulas and others in the birthing community have been developed over long periods of time. Drucker began her career as a doula 20 years ago and has continued to value and maintain those relationships over the years.

The Los Angeles Midwives recognize the importance of building trust and have established virtual Sunday meet and greets to better get to know their prospective clients. Working in the hospital setting, they saw first-hand the importance of having trust and a healthcare advocate during the birthing process. While working as labor and delivery nurses, Drucker and Sarkissian both took note of things they would do differently if and when they had their own practice. Drucker frequently jokes that she was an undercover midwife working as a labor and delivery nurse.

“There was one midwife at Cedars who had a private practice before we did,” Drucker said. “I would often ask her questions because I knew that down the road that’s what I wanted to do. My biggest concern was leaving a big institution where I get a great paycheck and have benefits. She said that will be the least of your worries. Your biggest worry is going to be finding a partner so you don’t kill yourself with the hours. I gained a lot of confidence from her. There is enough interest for sure, definitely for the special service we are offering that includes access to the hospital.”

Drucker worked independently for the first two years after leaving her nursing job, while Sarkissian took a full-time nursing instructor role at West Coast University (WCU) shortly after passing her national board certification.

“As a labor and delivery nurse, you really get to support these women in labor and help them make decisions and advocate for them,” Sarkissian said. “What drives you to become a midwife is when you see all of this in a medical setting and you can’t help but think to yourself ‘I wouldn’t have done it that way’ or ‘I wish she wasn’t coerced into that decision.’ You want to be in that seat where you’re making those decisions and managing her care. I want to be able to empower these women to be part of their own healthcare decisions. That’s one of the hallmarks of midwifery that we don’t see playing out the majority of the time in a medical setting.”

While Sarkissian was teaching at WCU, and concurrently serving as a clinical instructor at UCLA’s School of Nursing, she remained focused on her mission to join Drucker as a private practice midwife. Drucker guided her through the process of attaining delivering privileges.

“I left my job to get privileges while I taught full time. Naomi guided me throughout the whole thing,” said Sarkissian, who continues to be clinical faculty at UCLA’s School of Nursing. “It’s scary to call doctors and say ‘will you be my backup provider?’ She already had all those conversations. The groundwork was there. Plus, working at Cedars as registered nurses, where we had a working relationship and trust definitely helped.”

The Los Angeles Midwives have hit the ground running, beginning the new year with approximately 20 pregnant patients and 10 postpartum patients. They estimate that about 80 percent of their patients prefer a home birth, but the hospital privileges are a comforting assurance.

“If we need to go to the hospital, I still get to continue to take care of my patient,” Sarkissian said. “With the rest of the great midwives who don’t have these privileges, if there’s a reason to go to the hospital, that care ends because they can’t go with them.”

Drucker estimates that only about 15 percent of the time do they need assistance from their backup provider, who would perform procedures such as C-sections at the hospital. But even in those cases where physician backup is required, Drucker and Sarkissian are still able to be there, actively involved in the care and advocacy of their patients.

That personal connection and care are just as important to the Los Angeles Midwives as they are to their patients. They understand that it is what makes them a success, and it is why they have no immediate plans to expand their business.

“It’s such a personal business and people really do come for us — not just a midwife — they are coming for us in particular,” Drucker said. “I imagine it would change the flavor of our service if we had a team of midwives.”

Both Drucker and Sarkissian are content with the size, scope, and model of their practice. They are quick to thank their families, friends, and colleagues for helping them reach this point. It takes an immeasurable amount of support to be able to work full time, go to school full time, and raise a family all at once. They also credit Frontier Nursing University with playing a key role in making Los Angeles Midwives a reality.

“Frontier has a stellar reputation,” Drucker said. “As far as securing clinical sites and promoting ourselves, people love to know that we went to Frontier. As a working mother of four sons, I worked the night shift through my whole master’s degree and it was doable. I couldn’t have done that with any other program. I’m really grateful. I’m also grateful for the on-campus experience that we had. It was manageable and it allowed us to connect and meet these great midwives who are so passionate about some facets of midwifery that I had never even considered to be important. I think Frontier gave me a great foundation. I’m very proud to let people know that I went to Frontier.”

“I had a baby who was one when I started school and had two other babies while I was in school, also working the night shift,” Sarkissian said. “That ability to be able to go to school and realize my dreams would have not been possible with any other school. That being said, it wasn’t just any online program. I always felt that connection, even though I was thousands of miles away. Frontier has it figured out. They know what it takes to educate students using an online medium but still have that connection. I felt supported and the knowledge that I received and the education that I got were top notch. That was even more clear to me when the pandemic hit and I was an instructor at a university and I had to teach online. I got to use a lot of the things I learned as a student as an instructor.”

“I am extremely proud and honored to have attended Frontier,” Sarkissian continued. “I think as a midwifery school, it is one of the top schools and I can see why they have that reputation. They have it figured out and it’s the right way to do it.”

The same could be said about the Los Angeles Midwives.

Delivering the Vaccine to the Last Frontier

March 4, 2021 By Frontier Nursing University

Julie Drude, FNP Class 136, CNEP Class 81, DNP Class 26, doesn’t “do boats. I don’t like them. I hate boats.” Even though she was born and raised in Hollywood, Florida, and resides in Chattahoochee, Florida, she said “my extent of the beach and the waves is laying on the beach and sunbathing. I don’t do boats.”

Why, then, was she pictured in front of a boat in Alaska as part of a widely circulated news story in January? The answer as to why she’s in Alaska is that Drude is a travel nurse, currently working as a locum tenens in Homer, Alaska. The answer to why there’s a boat in the picture is because Drude, fellow FNU graduate Kourtney Holder, DNP, Companion, DNP 2, and two other medical personnel were delivering the COVID-19 vaccines to Seldovia, a small town located on Alaska’s Kachemak Bay, about 25 miles from Homer. There are no roads to Seldovia — the only ways to get there are across the bay via bush plane or, unfortunately for Drude, by boat.

Drude began working as a travel nurse in 2012, with her first assignment being the rural town of Bethel, Alaska. She worked there again in 2015 and 2017, and in Valdez, Alaska in the summer of 2020. This is her first trip to Homer, however, with her assignment scheduled from December through March. So, despite her familiarity with rural Alaska, she was not prepared for her assignment on her fourth day in Homer.

“It was my fourth day here and they were like, ‘Oh, by the way, you’re going to Seldovia today to vaccinate’,” she said. “That’s where the picture came from. That was the first day that we got the Pfizer vaccine. Now, this Florida girl who doesn’t do much flying or boating has to get on a boat or a bush plane every Monday and Tuesday and fly over to the village of Seldovia.”

That day, like many in Alaska, the weather was too rough for the bush planes to make the trip over the bay. The only way was by boat. Make no mistake, this is no pleasure cruise across a tranquil bay. It’s a rough trip.

“Because it was the Pfizer vaccine and there is that window that you have to use the vaccine, we had to take a boat,” Drude said. “It was my first boat ride in Alaska. We braved six-foot waves and rough water and delivered COVID vaccines. I had total faith in the captain of the boat, but it was like nothing I had ever experienced in my life. It was even rougher on the way back.”

As scary and unpleasant as the trip was, Drude said it was well worth it.

“It was such an amazing moment to be one of the first people here in this community to deliver some vaccines to Alaskans,” she said. “Mondays and Tuesdays are a little stressful waiting to know how we are going to get across the bay. But it’s been great. There are a lot of Alaska natives here and it’s rural, so it’s a great community to serve.”

The site in Homer is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). In addition to Seldovia, and the main clinic in Homer, there is another satellite clinic in Anchor Point, about 20 miles from Homer. The clinic has been providing vaccines at the Homer and Seldovia sites, with the first round going to first responders and Alaska natives over the age of 65.

“The majority of people are very eager to get the vaccine,” Drude said. “I think they see this as a ray of hope because, in places like Alaska, being outdoors and being with family and people, that’s such a huge part of life here. So many of these folks have been in isolation since March and April. Alaska was one of the very last states to be affected, but when the winter months came, COVID started hitting harder here.”

Drude was hit hard by COVID herself. From 2017 to 2020, she worked full time in school-based health in Florida. But when the pandemic began, found working from home to be an unproductive and poor use of her time.

“I saw an ad for staffing in New York for the COVID crisis in April,” she said. “I did a three-week assignment in New York for COVID.”

By the end of her time in New York, she was experiencing shortness of breath. Thinking it was probably anxiety or the result of wearing an N95 mask for 12-hour shifts almost 21 days straight, she nonetheless wore a double-mask on the flight home.

“I went to the ER and my COVID test was negative but I had pneumonia with ground-glass opacities, which is a common finding in COVID pneumonia,” she said. “Over the course of three weeks, I had very random symptoms. Fever, body aches, chills with no fever, body aches with no fever, very odd muscle cramps from my hips all the way to my toes, shortness of breath continued, severe dizziness, headaches. It took me about three weeks to almost fully recover. I am 9 months out and I still suffer from tachycardia, dizzy spells, and brain fog. My case was not as severe as most. I was not hospitalized. I never even got a positive COVID test, but I did have antibodies six weeks after I was ill. Both my pulmonologist and my cardiologist said it was highly likely that it was COVID. I still have what they are calling long-haul symptoms.”

Along those lines, Drude said she intends to be a travel nurse for the long haul.

“My goal is to continue doing locum tenens as a nurse practitioner,” she said. Drude and her husband John have five children, ages 21, 19, 17, 8, and 6. “I like the idea of working in a big clump, then having some time off and being home with them. The beauty is most jobs I take, my husband and two younger children can travel with me.”

Despite treacherous boat rides, COVID, and the other hazards of being a travel nurse, Drude is drawn to the opportunity to provide care in areas where little is available.

“Even though I have a little anxiety about lots of things, I have found that this trip has gotten me way out of my comfort zone,” Drude said. “These residents have to depend on a boat or a plane to get out if they are sick or injured. It’s just nice to be part of something where I can be over there twice a week to provide the care that they need without them having to spend the extra money to go to Homer to get care.”

Fellow FNU graduate Kourtney Holder accompanies Drude on many of these trips. Holder was contacted for this story, but unavailable for an interview. “I enjoyed my time at FNU and appreciate the great education I received there,” Holder said via text.

Drude echoed that comment, crediting FNU for readying her for the risks and rigors of travel nursing.

“I felt very well prepared as a Frontier graduate to do any job,” Drude said. “I love the emphasis on rural health and getting outside of your comfort zone and going where no one has gone before to serve. Frontier ingrains that in you. Get out in the world and serve.”

Even if you have to do it by boat.

Alumni Spotlight: Megan Simenc Carries on FNU Legacy at Boise VA Medical Center

February 2, 2021 By Frontier Nursing University

As we all learned in high school, whether it’s good or bad, reputation matters. Within the Boise VA Medical Center, it’s safe to say Frontier Nursing University has a good reputation. In recent years, four FNU graduates have been nurse practitioner residents at the medical center.

“The director of the Boise VA Medical Center nurse practitioner residency said she is consistently impressed with the FNU graduates who have come to our residency program,” said Megan Simenc, MSN, FNP-C, Class 155. “I was the third FNU graduate in the residency and one of the current residents, Elizabeth Ballweg (FNP, Class 158) is also a proud FNU alumnus. Liz and Megan Fitzmaurice (FNP, DNP, Class 20) are the reason I found the program and I owe a lot of my success to them.”

Simenc completed a one-year nurse practitioner residency in primary care at the Boise VA Medical Center in July prior to moving into her current role providing primary care and nurse practitioner residency leadership at the Boise VA Medical Center and the Caldwell VA Community Clinic.

“Thanks to the cohesive, collaborative interdisciplinary model at the VA, primary care providers like myself take on more care of complex conditions than I originally expected from my education and clinical experience,” Simenc said. “Since I work so closely with specialists at the VA, I am managing more complex conditions with the specialists’ input, and referring out less, which is a great learning experience.”

She passes that knowledge on to the current participants in the residency program. “I serve as a mentor for this year’s residents, set up didactic learning opportunities, do some teaching, and will be taking on the scheduling of specialty rotations,” Simenc said.

The Boise VA Medical Center receives patients from across Idaho and eastern Oregon, many of whom live in rural, isolated areas. According to Simenc, the majority of veterans seeking care at the Center are older white males with complex and overlapping medical conditions, including socio-economic and mental health conditions. Common challenges include low health literacy, very low income, complex comorbidities, mental health conditions, and geographic barriers to care.

Simenc relates to her patients by drawing on her own rural upbringing in the small town of Dillon, Montana. She also credits FNU for helping prepare her for the challenging patient population and the added complications brought on by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“I think FNU attracts some of the best future nurse practitioners and our education helps us blossom into strong, thoughtful, dedicated patient advocates and independent providers,” Simenc said. “I am constantly amazed at how well I was prepared to enter the workforce as a brand new nurse practitioner, thanks to my FNU education. Not only did FNU build up my clinical knowledge, but my education taught me to look further and not discount the critically important piece of socio-economics in our delivery of healthcare.”

Understanding a patient’s perspective is an important part of connecting and communicating with them while administering care. Simenc noted that her patients have been split regarding the pandemic, most being aware of the risks and the importance of safe practices, but many are skeptical of the seriousness or even legitimacy of the pandemic. Rather than engaging in a debate or trying to convince patients they are wrong, Simenc takes a more tactful approach.

“In these situations, I try to avoid judgment and instead elicit their perspectives, their concerns, and highlight that, regardless of their beliefs or their mistrust of the science presented to them, the outcome of taking these recommended precautions is helping protect other veterans around them,” she said. “This usually goes over quite well because our veterans have a very strong sense of pride and are almost always happy to help another vet.”

Simenc said she now only sees about 25 percent of her patients in person during the pandemic, with the remainder of the appointments taking place via secure video or phone calls. Many days she works from home to limit the number of people in the clinic.

“These changes have greatly impacted residency programs like our NP residency,” she said. “We are working on ways to maximize learning opportunities for our residents by holding didactics via video, and seeking unique opportunities to still get safe, face-to-face patient care experience like working in episodic and urgent care more often.”

There are many lessons to be learned, and Simenc is hopeful they will carry over after the pandemic is over.

“This global pandemic is highlighting the critical need for our country to recognize and support our frontline and essential workers – especially our nation’s healthcare workers like nurses, cleaning services, food services, clerical staff, and primary care providers,” she said. “I hope that our nation will learn that we need to support these essential workers not only in times of crisis, but to nurture these dedicated workers in good times as well.”

Note: For more information about the Boise VA Medical Center nurse practitioner residency program, visit vaboisenpresidency.com.

Alumni Spotlight: Charles Davis Leads Initiative to Open In-School Health Clinic

January 20, 2021 By Frontier Nursing University

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature our FNU community members that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality healthcare to underserved and rural populations.

It’s easy to forget what life was like before the COVID-19 Pandemic, but it was just in the spring of 2019 that Charles Davis, Ph.D., MSN, FNP-C, AE-C, Class 154 came up with an idea to help the students in the Webutuck Central School District in Amenia, New York. Employed as a nurse by the school district, Davis took action to bring an in-school based health clinic into the district.

“My district is a rural community in Dutchess County, New York,” Davis said. “Greater than 60% met a metric that classifies them as economically disadvantaged. Many also fit the category of being medically underserved and underinsured. Thus, these students face many barriers to getting their healthcare needs addressed including access to providers, transportation, and the ability of parents and guardians to take off work to have initial or follow-up appointments. Even parents/guardians that work as professionals and that have an easier time flex-timing from work still have challenges because the rural nature of our community means their jobs are often some distance away.”

Davis approached the district superintendent with his idea, arguing that a school-based health center breaks down those barriers. Furthermore, under New York State’s school-based health centers’ operation model, all services are delivered to the recipient without cost. He presented evidence demonstrating that students with access to school-based health centers not only have better overall physical and mental health but also improved educational outcomes, reduced chronic absenteeism and risky behaviors, improved management of chronic diseases, and a better-developed foundation for a successful transition to adulthood.

“Where better to provide comprehensive continuous primary and preventative care, acute care, chronic illness care, and referral management than the place where the students spend the majority of their waking hours?” Davis theorized.

With the approval of the district’s leadership and board of education, Davis moved forward to the task of complying with state regulations requiring in-school health centers to have a viable and qualified healthcare facility collaborator. By the end of the 2019-20 school year, he had found the necessary partner in the Open Door Family Medical Centers in Ossining, New York. Open Door was an ideal choice because it is a federally qualified health center with experience operating school-based health centers in other parts of the state.

With the required partner secured, the school board agreed, and the process of securing funding ensued. On May 4, 2020, the Foundation for Community Health in Sharon, Connecticut awarded the Webutuck school district a $100,000 grant to proceed with the in-school clinic. This funding was combined with $50,000 from New York State, resulting in the necessary dollars that will allow construction and remodeling of the health center’s space to occur, and a target opening of the beginning of the 2020-21 school year was projected.

Currently, the opening of the clinic is being delayed by the pandemic to at least the

beginning of the 2021-22 school year. Davis, however, continues to advocate for student healthcare throughout the state, recently collaborating with Webutuck Central School District Director of Curriculum and Development Jennifer Eraca to present to the New York State School Board Association on the value of school-based health centers.

“I wouldn’t be doing this without FNU, its faculty — especially Dr. Lisa Chappell and the

educators associated with the Family Nursing Practitioner Program, staff, and the vision and spirit of Mrs. Mary Breckinridge,” said Davis, who grew up in Coeburn, a small town in southwest Virginia, not far from FNU’s original Hyden campus. “Mrs. Breckinridge’s legacy and spirit are strong.”

Thank you, Charles, for all of the hard work and dedication you have to ensure that rural New York school children receive this vital access to care!

Are you interested in learning more about the great work of FNU alumni members? Visit the FNU Alumni blog!

Alumni Spotlight: Hélène A. Nau: Providing Care to Those Who Need it Most.

December 10, 2020 By Frontier Nursing University

Dr. Hélène Nau, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, graduated with her doctor of nursing practice (DNP) from Frontier Nursing University (FNU) in March of this year. Originally from Haiti, Nau built and ran the only emergency room in her home country and was the only trained emergency provider on the island when the devastating earthquake hit in January of 2010.

When the earthquake occurred, Nau was already an emergency RN, first responder, and medical reserve corps for Broward County and Miami-Dade. She is also advanced trauma, acute care and basic life support certified and has served in many critical environments and natural disaster-affected communities.

Following the earthquake recovery process, Nau moved to the United States to further her medical education. She earned her bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) Magna Cum Laude from Chamberlain College of Nursing in 2015, then pursued her master of science in nursing (MSN) with a concentration in family medicine at Chamberlain University and graduated in 2017 with distinction.

Nau said she chose to become a family nurse practitioner (FNP) so that she could better provide a broad spectrum of care to those in need.

“I didn’t want to find myself limited to one population,” Nau said. “I wanted to be able to serve families, geriatric, women and pediatric, to provide as much care as possible. I believe in hands-on holistic care and enjoy the possibility of treating whole families.”

Nau first heard about Frontier while doing online research to find the best DNP program for her lifestyle. She chose FNU for the low tuition, flexibility and time frame offered for completing the DNP program. Although, once she enrolled, Nau found her favorite part of the program to be the Frontier Bound and Clinical Bound sessions. Nau loved connecting and building community with fellow students.

“I am incredibly thankful for all of the close friends I made through the FNU Bound sessions, and for the support I received from the wonderful faculty throughout my journey,” Nau said.

Nau completed her DNP at FNU with a 4.0 GPA.

In 2014 and 2015, Nau was the Volunteer of the Year Award recipient in Broward County. Additionally, this year she received the Pearl Of Nursing Award from Pearls of Life Women Foundation. She also is a Board Member for CapraCare, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing sustainable health programs for Haitian children and their families.

Because of her background working with those dealing with devastation, Nau’s focus is to deliver care to individuals and families who might otherwise go without access due to their immigration or financial status. For this reason, Nau opened her practice, HEALTH360, a direct primary care facility in Pembroke Pines, Fla. Her practice was created with the mission to deliver affordable and accessible quality care to those in her community. Through the direct primary care model, Nau can treat those without insurance or with high deductible plans more personally, with an obtainable cost for the patient.

Celebrating Dr. Nau’s 50th birthday at Neurofit360

In her spare time, Nau volunteers at NeuroFit360, a neurological recovery facility dedicated to spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, where she dons multiple hats. She is in charge of human resources, health maintenance monitoring, X-ray and MRI reading. She also administers IV therapy at NeuroFit360 to neurologically injured clients and high-performance athletes.

Nau is also an outspoken cancer fighter who promotes early detection. Her DNP project was titled Implementation of Screening and Effective Care for Cancer Prevention at GetMed Urgent Care and worked to implement cancer screenings at an urgent care center that had not previously offered this service. Her results showed how easy and vital adding these types of programs to new environments can be.

To round off her many accomplishments, Nau is also a member of the Emergency Nurses Association, Haitian-American Nurses Association, Black Nurse Practitioners of Palm Beach County, AANP and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society.

Although she is a board-certified family practitioner, runs her own practice and has won multiple awards, Nau likes to say that the most important people in her life just call her “Mom”.

Thank you, Hélène, for all you do to provide quality care to those in need. FNU is proud to have you as a part of our community!

To find out more about other compassionate and driven FNU alumni, visit the alumni news page.

Alumni Spotlight: Onidis Lopez: A Lifelong Helper

November 30, 2020 By Frontier Nursing University

Onidis Lopez is a Frontier Nursing University (FNU) master of science in nursing (MSN), doctor of nursing practice (DNP) alumna, but she was a midwife long before arriving at FNU for Frontier Bound. Born and raised in South Florida, Lopez grew up in a lower-income community that worked together to build each other up. Lopez’s grandmother was known as the ‘community grandmother.’ She was a voice of reason and a helper; the person called whenever someone needed advice or had a life event. By the time Lopez was 15, whenever her grandmother received a call about a birth in the community, Lopez was the one sent to help.

“I remember always feeling drawn towards pregnant women,” Lopez says. “As a child, I was imitated by adults and didn’t like being around them, but whenever I saw a pregnant woman, I felt at ease. I would go up to them and ask them questions; I was so excited to learn more about their baby.”

Lopez remembers skipping school to help with births. She was there to welcome every one of her nieces and nephews into the world and even recalls abruptly leaving a club with her college friends to assist with the birth of her cousin’s child. However, as much as she loved helping mommas and newborns, she didn’t initially believe she wanted to be a doctor.

“When my sister was giving birth, I saw the doctor come in for the last few minutes, and I thought, I don’t want to do that. I wondered if there was a job out there for someone like me who wanted to support the mother and child through the whole pregnancy,” Lopez said.

Lopez initially went to college for architecture, but in 2002 she finally followed her calling and enrolled in Miami college for her associate’s degree in midwifery.

Because of Lopez’s experience in hospitals during births, she did not initially believe she was interested in a nursing degree. However, Lopez greatly admired her midwifery professor, Diana Gregory, and one day while visiting her office, she noticed the degree on Gregory’s wall. Gregory had graduated from FNU.

“I thought to myself then, if I ever do decide to become a certified nurse-midwife, I’ll go to Frontier,” Lopez said.

In the meantime, Lopez worked closely with families providing home births through a birth center. In 2012 she decided to further her knowledge of midwifery and enrolled at Frontier. Lopez chose FNU for its strong history of success, the program’s flexibility and the excellent example of midwifery that her professor had provided.

Today Lopez is a certified DNP, APRN, CNM-BC working at St. Lucie Women and Children Center in St. Lucie, Fla., where she still holds close to her midwifery roots.

“That is who I am at heart. I use that presence to calm the mommas and the families; if something doesn’t go as planned, that’s okay. I will walk with them through the halls and talk with them; I tell them this is their body, and we will work with it. It isn’t about getting an IV at the right time, or having a certain number of nurses, it is about bringing new life to this world,” Lopez says.

For Lopez’s DNP project, Reducing Primary Cesareans: Improving Patient-Centered Care By Standardizing The Induction of Labor Processes, she worked to bring the sense of compassion and community that she has used her whole life into the hospital setting.

“The goal of my program was to create shared decision making between the clinician and the patient, so many times the physician will say ‘this or that happened so we are inducing you’ without explaining or asking the patient how they feel. I believe the patient should have a larger role in their birth experience.”

Through Lopez’s project, the Primary C-section rate at the trial locations decreased from 24.4 percent to 16 percent in just eight weeks. Lopez found that patients were unlikely to argue with a sudden C-section option when feeling pressured by healthcare workers. However, when presented with all of the information and given a choice, many women chose to wait and had equally successful pregnancies.

As the first member of her family to attend college, encouraging others to be their best self is extremely important to Lopez. As her interview closed, Lopez ended with a heartwarming story of the power of representation.

“In our area, we regularly see a population of indigenous people who have children at a very young age. Recently I assisted 16 and 19-year-old sisters with their births just months apart. When the 19-year-old came in, their mother recognized me and introduced me to her younger girls, ages seven and 10. The 10-year old looked at me, surprised to see someone who looked like her in a leadership role at the hospital; she asked, ‘You’re the midwife?’

“I told her that I was and that I would make a deal with her- I would deliver her baby too, but only after she came back to me with two diplomas, one from high school and one from college.”

“The next day, I saw her mother again while performing her sister’s post-partum check-up. The girl’s mother told me that the night after I spoke with the 10-year old, she announced at dinner, ‘Dad, I’m not going to have a baby until I go to college and have two diplomas. I think that’s really important.’

“When I heard that, I got goosebumps. In my career, I want to help as many mothers find comfort as I can, but if I can also help little girls see a bigger future for themselves, that makes me feel truly wonderful.”

Lopez was recently the featured nurse-midwife in the American College of Nurse-Midwives’ (ACNM) Quickening publication and was invited to represent her area on the ACNM’s Midwives of Color Committee.

FNU is unbelievably proud of Lopez and her many accomplishments. We believe that she will continue to promote positive change throughout the healthcare community and help lead nursing and midwifery towards a brighter future.

To find out more about other compassionate and driven FNU alumni, visit the alumni news page.

Student Spotlight: Heidi Hagan, Offering a Vision of Healing

November 19, 2020 By Frontier Nursing University

Heidi Hagan is a current Frontier Nursing University (FNU) student working to become a Certified Nurse-Midwife, a passion born from her own life experience. In 2003, Hagan went through a life-changing and devastating event when her first child was unexpectedly lost at term. Hagan said the incident was one of the most challenging times of her life, but because of the incredible midwife who supported her through the tragedy, she now has a clear vision of her future. She wants to become a nurse-midwife who can bring healing to others.

“My goal is to develop a comprehensive perinatal hospice program that provides in-home care/birth planning, delivery support, grief support, and follow up after birth. This cause is very near to my heart and drives everything I do as a nurse and now student nurse-midwife.”

Hagan is currently working as a triage registered nurse for home health and home hospice patients at UPMC Home Health & Family Hospice in Williamsport, Pa. In this role, Hagan provides PRN skilled nursing services after regular business hours by meeting patient needs as they arise, monitoring chronic conditions and surveying how patients are coping and adjusting after a hospital stay or receiving a terminal diagnosis. Although hospice care is not traditionally paired with nurse-midwifery, Hagan chose this route with intention.

“I wanted to become more comfortable working with death and dying, as well as avail myself to caring for perinatal patients who may be anticipating a life-limiting diagnosis. I also wanted to gain experience working with folks in the home setting because I feel there is a huge opportunity to expand services to postpartum women. I believe that if these services were more commonly expanded, we could improve outcomes related to postpartum depression and promote healthy families through home health nursing.”

Set to graduate in 2021, Hagan first chose FNU because of its incredible reputation for providing quality education and promoting compassionate care.

“I had heard wonderful things about the programs at FNU and was immediately attracted to the program after meeting and talking with several FNU alumni. I needed a program with flexibility, the ability to pace my learning and a personal touch. It was an easy decision!”

After choosing FNU, Hagan said it is everything she hoped for, adding that it has had an incredible impact on her personal life as well as her education.

“The FNU network has been my lifeline! I have had several unexpected life events over the past three years that threatened to derail my success. However, the amazing network of teaching midwives, fellow students, local alumni and program leaders at FNU have kept me on track through it all. My FNU support system constantly encourages patient, persistence, and perseverance –always reminding me of why I started my journey in the first place.”

Another remarkable piece of Hagan’s story is that through her nurse-midwife program at FNU, she has been able to train side by side with the nurse-midwife who inspired her career choice. Nearly 20 years ago, Kay Zlockie, CNM, helped Hagan through her lost pregnancy. Today, Zlockie is guiding Hagan towards her future, sharing knowledge and encouragement as her primary preceptor.

As Hagan put it, “my story has come full circle.”

FNU wishes Hagan luck as she moves forward with her dream to support women and families facing loss and heartache. May her personal tragedy lead to healing for many.

To learn more about FNU’s unique and impactful nurse-midwife program based around a Culture of Caring that seeks to equip upcoming nurse-midwives with wisdom and compassion, click here.

Frontier University Celebrates Their 2020 Homecoming Award Winners

October 20, 2020 By Frontier Nursing University

Each year, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) alumni and faculty gather for fun, fellowship, sharing memories and to celebrate the accomplishments of their peers at the annual Homecoming event. Although COVID-19 prevented the university from hosting an in-person gathering this fall, the university still worked hard to honor those who have shined exceptionally bright this year through its annual Homecoming awards.

The annual Homecoming awards fall into two primary categories including The Distinguished Service to Society Award, which provides recognition for alumni who go above and beyond to provide exceptional service in their communities; and The Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award, which honors alumni who have supported Frontier through volunteer efforts and/or donor support. Additionally, FNU also presents its Mary Breckinridge Lifetime Service Award and Unbridled Spirit Award for members of the FNU community who have shown unyielding support to the school.

The community at FNU is proud of the accomplishments of these award winners and the many ways in which they have represented FNU and its mission. Here are this year’s Homecoming award winners:

Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award:

Rebeca Barroso, DNP, MSN, RN, CNM, FACNM

Rebeca Barroso lives in St. Paul, Minn., where she was in full-scope nurse-midwifery clinical practice for more than 20 years, after 22 years in direct-entry midwifery practice. Dr. Barroso, who earned both her nurse-midwifery certificate and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from FNU, served as an assistant professor at Frontier from 2011 to 2016. She is currently an associate professor at St. Catherine University in Saint Paul, Minn., where she teaches the graduate level maternal-infant content and pathophysiology for the nurse practitioner students.

Dr. Barroso has an extensive clinical midwifery background, working with vulnerable women experiencing health disparities from multiple cultural backgrounds. In 2008, Dr. Barroso was the recipient of the Community Service Award granted by Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis for her work with patients from these underserved populations.

Dr. Barroso is a co‐editor of Best Practices in Midwifery: Using the Evidence to Implement Change, Second Edition (2016), and DNP Capstone Projects: Exemplars of Excellence in Practice (2015). She is a fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. In 2011, Dr. Barroso won ACNM’s W. Newton Long Award for the Advancement of Midwifery.

Throughout her career, Dr. Barroso has been a dedicated supporter of FNU. She has precepted more than a dozen Frontier students and has been a generous donor for more than 20 years. FNU thanks Dr. Barroso for her remarkable commitment to her profession, her community, and to Frontier. FNU is proud to present her with the 2020 Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award.

Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award:

Rebecca Feldman, CNM, PMHNP

Rebecca Feldman is a nurse-midwife, psychiatric nurse practitioner, and psychotherapist in maternal mental health. She sees clients in private practice in the offices of Boro Park Ob/Gyn and Midwives, and at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens, N.Y., as part of the perinatal psychiatry team.

She earned her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from FNU and a Post Master’s in Psychiatric Nursing from NYU. Feldman, who has delivered more than 70 babies, has a broad range of nursing experience, as well as ten years of experience as a nurse-midwife. Her vast experience helped her identify an area of need in women’s health care -perinatal mental health. She applied for grants to start mothers’ groups in English and Spanish. She made these evidence-based support groups available to mothers at no cost and continues to provide mental health services to clients with underlying mental health diagnoses or perinatal mood disorders.

Feldman provides mental health care during all aspects of family building, including preconception planning, families struggling with infertility, postpartum parents, as well as those surviving pregnancy, infant or child loss. She facilitates a weekly group for pregnant or postpartum clients struggling with depression and/or anxiety, and payment is only by donation.

In addition to her service to her patients, she is also a leader and advocate. She is a frequent guest speaker on maternal mental health and is an advocate for making maternal mental health care accessible to all families in need. Feldman has seemingly always been willing to give her time and expertise to assist others. Even as a student at FNU, she hosted case days in her home. As a graduate, she has precepted FNU students every year since becoming eligible to do so in 2016.

Feldman is a credit to her FNU training and a most worthy recipient of the 2020 Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award.

Distinguished Service to Society Award:

Rachel Lien, FNP

Rachel Lien, who earned her MSN and Family Nurse Practitioner degrees from Frontier, quickly applied what she learned at the school. Shortly after graduation, she signed on at a pediatric inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Massachusetts, where patients from all over the world came for specialized treatment.

Based on Lien’s work with patients from Arabic-speaking countries, her community service in interfaith dialogue groups, and a Moroccan American community group, she was awarded the Kathryn Davis Peace Fellowship. This fellowship allowed her to study Arabic for a full summer. An additional scholarship from One Nurse At A Time led her to Pakistan, where she volunteered at a hospital and clinic. Lien worked in the newborn inpatient unit and taught classes to promote health and wellness among the staff and students.

Next, Lien traveled to Greece to work at a clinic in a refugee camp. Working abroad taught her that one person traveling to volunteer was not enough and how politics, culture, and organizational structure contribute to the vast disparities in health worldwide.

With these experiences and new insights, Lien returned to Massachusetts to continue learning and preparing herself to be a more significant agent of change. She is now pursuing her DNP at Frontier and working at Franklin Family Practice. Her tireless efforts to learn how to best serve her community, paired with her commitment to improving health outcomes worldwide, are inspiring. Rachel Lien is an outstanding example of providing service to others, and, for that reason, FNU is proud to honor her as the winner of the 2020 Distinguished Service to Society Award.

Distinguished Service to Society Award:

Melva Craft-Blacksheare, DNP, MS, RN, CNM

Dr. Melva Craft-Blacksheare is an Associate Professor of Nursing at the University of Michigan-Flint School of Nursing. She has been a registered nurse (RN) for over 40 years and a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) for 26. Dr. Craft-Blacksheare, who earned her CNM from FNU, practices as a centering pregnancy facilitator with the St. John Providence Health System in the Metro Detroit area.

Dr. Craft-Blacksheare is the lead faculty at the University of Michigan-Flint for Maternity Nursing and Issues in Women’s Health courses. She also co-chairs DNP student research projects and serves on the curriculum committee, student concerns committee, and is a former advisory member of the Women’s Educational Center. She is a co-chair for the A.C.T.S (A Chance to Succeed) Mentoring Program. She is on the steering committee of Genesys Hospital Centering Pregnancy.

Dr. Craft-Blacksheare is a member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, Association of Women’s Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, and the Greater Flint Black Nurses Association. She has been the project director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant “New Careers in Nursing” to increase nursing workforce diversity. She is a chartered member of the Chi Eta Phi, Sorority Inc. Iota Chi Chi Chapter, an international professional nursing sorority whose mission is “service for humanity.”

As a leader in her field and at her university, Dr. Craft-Blacksheare embodies the spirit of Frontier. A preceptor to FNU students, she continues to give back to FNU and the nurse-midwifery profession as an educator, researcher, and practitioner. For her decades of service and commitment to FNU, Dr. Melva Craft-Blacksheare is the very deserving winner of this year’s Distinguished Service to Society Award.

During each Homecoming Ceremony, FNU also presents awards to some of their most dedicated and passionate supporters. This year’s winners include:

Mary Breckinridge Lifetime Service Award:

Dr. Susan Graham and Dr. Jon Kucera

Dr. Susan Graham, a member of the extended Breckinridge family, and her husband, Dr. Jon Kucera, are longtime FNU supporters. They have inspired others to give as well, such as matching donations to FNU on Giving Tuesday.

Their gifts have supported many FNU initiatives, including student scholarships and the Kitty Ernst Midwifery Endowed Chair Fund. In 2019 they made a pledge for the construction of a walking path around the Versailles campus.

Not only do they support FNU with financial gifts, but also with gifts of time and expertise. Susan is an active member of FNU’s Leadership Council and stays closely connected to the university and its mission.

With the deepest gratitude for their support, FNU proudly presents Dr. Susan Graham and Dr. John Kucera with the Mary Breckinridge Lifetime Service Award.

Unbridled Spirit Award:

Ellen Bayard

Ellen Bayard served as a Frontier Nursing Service Courier from the early fall of 1968 to the late spring of 1969. Since that time, her generous annual contributions have helped to further the mission and work of Frontier. In addition to her financial commitment, Ms. Bayard has volunteered her time and talents as a member of the Courier Advisory Council.

In recognition and gratitude for her service as Courier, advisor, and supporter, FNU is proud to present the Unbridled Spirit Award to Ellen Bayard.

Thanks again to all of FNU’s dedicated alumni, friends, and supporters. We couldn’t do this without you, and we wouldn’t want to! To learn more about other alumni activities and how to stay involved, visit FNU’s alumni page. For more information on how to become a donor and help Frontier spread quality care to underserved communities, click here.