Porter Hospital unveiled and dedicated its new Birthing Center at a ceremony on Friday, November 10th, 2007.

Listen to what recent parents say about the new Porter birthing center..

Porter Establishes Nurse-Midwifery Practice in Vergennes

MIDDLEBURY--Porter Hospital  has added a new service and introduce da new provider of health care services for area women. Certified Nurse-Midwife Martha Redpath and Heather Kidde Brown, CNM see patients in Vergennes at the former Vergennes Family Health office on Armory Lane. They have delivery privileges in the new Porter Hospital Birthing Center.  The name of the practice is “Tapestry Midwifery”.

According to the American College of Nurse-Midwifery, Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM’s) are “licensed registered nurses who have completed additional/specialized training in the management of pregnancy and delivery, as well as postpartum services. CNM’s must graduate from a nationally accredited education program, pass a rigorous national certification exam, and be licensed to practice. Certified nurse-midwives provide their clients with a safe mechanism for consultation, collaboration, and referral if needed to an OB/GYN physician specialist.”

Pat Jannene, Vice President for Patient Care Services at Porter Hospital, believes that the introduction of a nurse-midwifery service at Porter Hospital provides area women with an additional option of provider when deciding whom to see for their prenatal care and will position Porter Hospital to attract additional clients for our new Birthing Center based on this consumer choice.  “Every woman and every couple view their birth experience as a very special and important event--and most couples want to play a very active role in selecting the type of provider and type of environment they prefer—our goal is to provide here at Porter as many of the best options possible for both” she added.

“Additionally, our new Birthing Center, which was designed with an LDRP model of care in mind, is ideally suited for the nature of nurse-midwifery practice, while maintaining appropriate and convenient access to both specialized medical care and facilities if unanticipated intervention is required” she said.

According to PMC President, James L. Daily, the OB/GYN specialists who have privileges at Porter Hospital are supportive of the introduction of this service and of the specific provider who has been identified.  “We are very excited to be introducing this new service and I would anticipate that once this practice is established and begins to grow, we may need to recruit additional CNM providers in the future.”

Redpath has 20 years of experience, in various capacities, supporting and caring for women—including providing the full scope of nurse-midwifery services such as the management of pregnancy, birth, postpartum care, well-women exams and contraceptive care. She worked in the Gifford Hospital birthing center from 1987 to 2006, and is a resident of Vergennes. 

She earned her nurse-midwifery certificate from the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing in Hyden, Kentucky, (the first and oldest school of nurse- midwifery in the United States) and holds a Masters Degree and Bachelor’s of Science Degree of Nursing from Case Western Reserve University and Duke University.

"I am thrilled to be providing midwifery services, well woman exams and other health care services to the women in our community. The warm welcome from so many people at Porter is setting the stage for a lovely practice to grow", she said.

Heather Brown Kidde, CNM Heather joined Tapestry Midwifery in October, 2008 coming from the University of California, San Francisco with a Masters in Science and Nurse-Midwifery & Women's Health Specialty. She has taught prenatal yoga, childbirth education classes and worked with women on domestic violence issues. We are thankful to have her Spanish skills along with her passion for midwifery.

Additional information and appointments available by calling (802) 877-0022.
TapestryMidwifery.com

The “North Project” is the latest in a long series of capital improvement and modernization projects at Porter Hospital—including the complete renovation of the Medical/Surgical Unit in 1994, construction of a new Emergency Department/Radiology Wing and other Outpatient renovations in 1996 and the renovation of the Collins Building in 1997.  The new surgical and maternity departments, set to open in November, represent modernization of facilities that were built more than 30 years ago, as well as the latest step in the modernization of every major patient care area of Porter Hospital over the past 12 years.

For more information call the Porter Medical Center Public Relations Department at 388-4744.