For
Immediate Release
April 11, 2013
Contact: Barbra Elenbaas
(240) 485-1822, [email protected]
ACNM Member Among First-Ever REAL Award Winners Honored on Capitol Hill
Midwife Recognized for Exemplary Service to Maternal and Child Health Care
Silver Spring, MD
- American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) member Melissa Courtney, CNM, was
among 9 outstanding US health workers honored today in Washington, DC as the
inaugural recipients of The REAL Awards - a new distinction from Save the
Children. The award recognizes frontline health workers for their extraordinary
service and the lifesaving care they provide globally, as well as in the United
States.
Courtney, a 14-year practitioner of women's health, founded
WomanKind Midwifery in Lexington, Kentucky. She was nominated for the REAL
Awards by a former client. "I
feel very honored," Courtney said. "It is amazing and a reward in itself
to know that a patient feels that what I do every day, caring for women, is
life-changing to them."
The awards presentation featured Senator Lindsey Graham of
South Carolina and Ambassador Jimmy Kolker, Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Global Affairs at the US Department of Health and Human Services.
ACNM Vice President of Global Outreach Suzanne Stalls, CNM,
closed the presentation with a brief talk on how midwifery's unique attributes
may present a solution to both domestic and global maternal and child health
issues. Stalls noted that barriers to midwifery practice are parallel in the
two settings, but occur for contrasting reasons: high-resource US midwives are
often overlooked in favor of physicians, while midwives in developing countries
- the default providers of maternal-child health care - cannot access
lifesaving interventions.
"Midwifery care occupies a middle ground that can make
significant improvements on opposite ends of the spectrum," said Stalls. "ACNM
is involved in ongoing efforts to increase the midwifery workforce and its
access to resources in order to implement these improvements."
By some estimates, the world is lacking more than 5 million
health workers, including one million frontline health workers; the US shortage
alone is expected to reach 45,000 by 2020, after the implementation of the
Affordable Care Act.
The REAL Awards presentation coincides with World Health
Worker Week, which aims to mobilize communities, partners, and policymakers in
support of health workers across the globe.
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About the American
College of Nurse-Midwives
The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) is the
professional association that represents certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and
certified midwives (CMs) in the United States. With roots dating to 1929, ACNM
sets the standard for excellence in midwifery education and practice in the
United States and strengthens the capacity of midwives in developing countries.
Our members are primary care providers for women throughout the lifespan, with
a special emphasis on pregnancy, childbirth, and gynecologic and reproductive
health. ACNM reviews research, administers and promotes continuing education
programs, and works with organizations, state and federal agencies, and members
of Congress to advance the well-being of women and infants through the practice
of midwifery.
For more information, please contact ACNM at (240) 485-1822.
