Ginger Breedlove, CNM, PhD, FACNM
Education Program Director
Assistant Professor
(913) 588-1641
gbreedlove@kumc.edu
My philosophy of nurse midwifery practice is grounded on advocacy for women, caring through listening, and providing information to families as a method of self-empowerment in health care decision-making. The development of these beliefs has its roots in my childhood in Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County where I first discovered the world of nursing as a candy striper at Bethany Hospital. My work at the University of Kansas Medical Center is actually a return to serve the families of the community I was raised in, with an understanding of the needs and unique challenges that confront underserved populations.
My educational background includes a PhD from the University of Missouri-Kansas City where I completed a study on 'The Experience of Social Support and Hope for Pregnant and Parenting Teens Receiving Doula Care'. My MSN degree was attained at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH in 1995; my Nurse Midwifery Certification was completed at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston in 1982; and my BSN degree was awarded from Washburn University in Topeka, KS in 1978. In the spring of 2002 I had the honor of being inducted as a fellow in the American College of Nurse Midwives. My research plan includes investigation of stress, depression, and adequacy of social support on pregnancy outcomes.
Commitment to acting on my beliefs goes back to 1979 when I co-founded The Birth and Women's Center in Topeka, the first freestanding birth center in Kansas. In 1994 I established the first hospital based certified nurse midwifery (CNM) service in the Greater Kansas City area at St. Luke's Hospital. In 1998 I joined the development team to help establish the Kansas Collaborative Bistate Nurse-Midwifery Education Program.
I strongly believe that in all areas of midwifery professional development (research, clinical practice and teaching) it is imperative that new nurse-midwifery graduates embrace and foster a philosophy of care that first "listens to women." This is the foundation for everything that we are entrusted to provide through the delivery of medical care. Furthermore, students of this program learn that best outcomes of care are most efficient when a multidisciplinary team of experts provide specific services based on level of risk, appropriateness of provider-type, patient desire, and ease of entry into care.
Terrah Pendarvis Stroda
I have always wanted to deliver babies. As a teenager growing up in a small town I remember walking by the hospital and saying to myself, “I will deliver babies there someday”. Little did I know that one day I would be the first Certified Nurse-Midwife to practice in that rural hospital.
After realizing at such a young age that my professional calling would involve women’s health, I have since spent many years honing my skills. I started my journey in health care as a certified nurses aide at the ripe age of 16, and it was in that role that I recognized nursing as the conduit to my long-term plans. As a BSN student at the University of Kansas School of Nursing I found midwifery in a “light bulb” moment of matching my philosophy in caring for women with my professional pursuit in medicine. After graduation in 1999 I returned to my hometown of Junction City, Kansas, working towards improving patient care and learning as much as I could, as fast as I could. Bedside labor support was my favorite role as a registered nurse, but I still felt that something was missing. I wanted to care for the women I met on Labor & Delivery full-time; from prenatal visits to postpartum, and throughout their lifetime. I understood what the women in the community wanted, what was needed in terms of resources and education, and yet felt like I wasn’t helping enough at the end of my shift. In 2001 it became clear to me that midwifery school was my next step, and I started my graduate work in the midwifery track at the University of Kansas full steam ahead. As it was always my intention to deliver babies there, I returned to Junction City after completing graduate school in August 2003 to practice midwifery. This was not an easy task but it was well worth the hard work. With a phenomenal preceptor in Dr. Anwar Khoury by my side, and by hearing Dr Ginger Breedlove’s expert midwife-coaching in my ear, I was finally able to reach my goal. At the age of 25 I became the first certified nurse-midwife to have a full-scope practice in Junction City, KS. I was delivering babies at Geary Community Hospital. After several years in that extremely rewarding practice, I moved back to the Kansas City area once again; this time to get married and start a family. I joined the full-scope midwifery practice at Women’s Care, PA in Overland Park, Kansas in May 2005 and continue my work as a CNM there today.
I have always wanted to deliver babies. I still enjoy delivering babies. I have been blessed to be present for many amazing births, including those of many family members and friends. There is no greater experience that bonds women together than helping each other during life-changing moments; childbirth is just one of them. Finding resources to help women succeed when they’re struggling is an underlying ambition. Another objective I have is to improve health care by being politically active. I am currently the local ACNM Chapter V-18 Legislative Liaison and have recently been appointed to the KS Board of Nursing Advanced Practice committee as a CNM liaison. It is my intention to use these roles as extensions of midwifery; to be an advocate for women and families, as well as for nurses and midwives. At the end of the day, though, my greatest joy is spending time with my husband and our son, Braedon, born in 2007.
Sharon Foster, CNM, MN
I have 20 years experience in maternal/child nursing. I graduated from the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing with a certificate in nurse-midwifery and am certified by the American College of Nurse Midwives. Previous to that, I attained my MN from the University of Kansas and my BSN from Wichita State University. My clinical preceptorship of nurse-midwifery students for this program will originate from Associates in Women's Health, P.A. in Wichita, Kansas.
Marilyn Maier, CNM, MSN
I am a native Kansan and was born in Russell where I grew up on our family farm. Since childhood, I witnessed and assisted with many animal births, and that is the foundation for my love of babies and the natural-birth process.
I earned my BSN from Fort Hays State University in 1976 and my MS in parent-child nursing from the University of Colorado in 1979. For the next twenty years I taught parent-child nursing at Fort Hays State University and thoroughly enjoyed doing so.
In 1997 I left Kansas to attend East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina and earned a post-master's certificate in nurse midwifery. Following graduation, I practiced nurse-midwifery and also held a joint appointment within the Schools of Medicine and Nursing at East Carolina University to teach parent-child nursing to undergraduate nursing students.
Longing to return closer to home, I accepted a position at Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center in Kansas City Missouri where I currently provide full scope nurse-midwifery practice with deliveries at Truman Medical Center. I also provide midwifery services for Platte County Health Department in Platte City and Riverside, Missouri.
Marcia Ann Schlotman, MSN, CNM
I have been a registered nurse since 1972, and attained my MSN and CNM from Yale University in 1974. My teaching experience includes instruction at Loma Linda University School of Nursing in California and at St. Louis University School of Nursing Nurse-Midwifery Program. Over 20 years of nursing experience in the US military has enhanced my knowledge of diverse geographic areas including Missouri, Louisiana, Nebraska, California, and New York. I precept student nurse-midwives of this program thorough my full-scope nurse-midwifery work at Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
Kim Anderson
, MSN CNM
Kim has been providing maternal child services to the women of Missouri for over twenty years. She received her BSN in Nursing from Central Missouri State University in 1982 and a Master of Science in Nursing (specializing in Midwifery) from the University of Missouri in 1999. She has practiced midwifery in a variety of environments, from rural Alaska to urban Kansas City. She is Vice-President of Chapter V-18 American College of Nurse-Midwives and active in maternal child issues in the greater metropolitan Kansas City area.
Dean E. Mehling, MA
dmehling@kumc.edu
As Information Resource Specialist at the University of Kansas School of Nursing, I developed and maintain the school's intranet, which is an interactive information repository for faculty, staff and students. I enjoy developing web sites and ensure they contain attention-getting graphics. I design and implement School of Nursing online courses and assist faculty with their on-line development work. My work also includes creating power point presentations and multimedia components for nursing faculty presentations. I am most proud of the graphics and diagrams I have developed for faculty publications in national professional journals.
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