The MAWS eNews	July 23rd, 2015

In this issue

:: Birth Assistant Legislation

:: Call for Board Nominations

:: New Master's Degree at Bastyr

:: Eliminating Barriers

:: Continuing Education

Birth Assistant Legislation

If you are on the DOH Midwifery Program listserve you should have recently received a notice about a public hearing on Friday, July 31, 2015, regarding proposed legislation to certify birth assistant in Washington State. The hearing will be held at the Department of Health office in Tumwater beginning at 9:00am. As the notice indicates, you can testify in person of submit your comments in writing by July 28th.

MAWS introduced the bill during the 2015 legislative session and Representative Cody sent it to Sunrise Review. The purpose of a sunrise review is to evaluate a proposal to change laws regulating health professions in Washington.

To review the proposal and application that MAWS submitted to the DOH, please click here.

We have already received some feedback from the midwifery community that RNs, medical assistants, physician/s assistant, and CPMs should not be required to take the birth assistant training in order to get certified- that these provider types should be able to obtain certification by verifying with the DOH that they have the skills necessary for serving in the capacity. Please be assured that MAWS President, Valerie Sasson, will bring these concerns forward during her testimony at the hearing, but you should also feel free to submit you comments in writing directly to the DOH:

sunrise@doh.wa.gov

Call for 2015 MAWS Board Nominations

Join the Board of Directors! The next MAWS Conference and Annual Meeting is coming up on November 20th. A few members of our current Board of Directors will not be running for re-election, and we'd like to invite you to consider bringing all of your talents to furthering our mission to promote the health and well-being of women and families in Washington State through the profession of midwifery.

Board members take an active role in the work of MAWS. The Board typically meets once per month. Most meetings are in the Seattle area, though members can call in to meetings--so it is possible to join from a distance. Learn more about Board participation here and learn more about your role as a Board member here.

If you're interested in getting on this fall's ballot, please email your name and bio (or that of a colleague, with their permission). Nominations must be received by Friday, October 2, 2015. Questions? Please email them to Amanda info@washingtonmidwives.org.

New Master's Degree for Experienced Midwives - now starting

July 2016

Are you looking to expand your midwifery expertise beyond clinical practice? Interested in earning a relevant master's degree that builds on your experience to influence positive change in maternity care?

Bastyr University's Department of Midwifery now offers an accredited

Master of Arts in Maternal-Child Health Systems degree specifically for birth professionals. The one-year program, delivered primarily online, provides skills to those who want to be part of maternity care systems change -- in education, research and policy-making.

The program begins Summer 2016 and applications are now being accepted. Important features:

4-quarter, regionally accredited graduate degree relevant to midwives
Primarily online with two short on site weeks at start and end
Part-time option
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Multi-disciplinary faculty

For more information or to find out if this program is right for you, contact:

Suzy Myers, Chair of Department of Midwifery at smyers@bastyr.edu

Suzanne Yate, Admissions Advisor at syates@bastyr.edu

Are You on Facebook?

"Like" the MAWS Page!

If you're on Facebook, visit us and "like" our page, and encourage your friends to "like" us, too. This is a great way to get the word out on MAWS' legislative work and events.

Eliminating Barriers to Increase the Access to the Services of LMs

MAWS President, Valerie Sasson, and MAWS Legislative and Policy Chair, Audrey Levine, met with the Medical Directors of the Managed Care Organizations that contract with the WA State Health Care Authority on April 17th and June 5th to eliminate the barriers to increased access to the services of Licensed Midwives. As a result of these meetings, the Medical Directors agreed to the following:

Instead of requiring a Physician Letter for credentialing, the plans will accept the Emergency Plan that LMs are required to submit to the Department of Health every year with licensure renewal.
With regard to prior authorizations, the plans clarified that the purpose is for NOTIFICATION, not to limit access to the services of licensed midwives, home birth, or birth center birth. Prior authorization is designed to enhance communication between providers, patients, and the plan. The plans will consider changing the language to reflect this purpose.

Additionally, the information shared at these meetings about the outcomes and cost savings associated with LM care has paved the way for a conversation with the Health Care Authority about increasing Medicaid reimbursement for the services of LMs and increasing the birth center facility fee. Hoping to be able to share good news on this front in the next few months. Stay tuned!

Continuing Education and Upcoming Events

CONFERENCE 2015

Advanced Practice in Primary and Acute Care

This conference offers health care providers an opportunity to validate and enhance clinical competencies, acquire new assessment and management skills, examine critical issues in health care at the state and national level, foster a strong coalition of providers in advanced practice, and learn about new products, services, and pharmacotherapeutic agents. Conference faculty include distinguished national, regional and local experts. Concurrent sessions allow participants to design their own educational tracks in the areas of acute, adolescent, adult, family, geriatric, midwifery, pediatric, psychosocial and women's health care. In addition, special interest group meetings on Thursday and Friday and workshops on Saturday provide a broad spectrum of learning opportunities for providers in all settings. Teaching methods include lecture, discussion, case studies, demonstration and practice.

November 5-7, 2015 Washington State Convention Center.

20.6 contact hours (16.0 pharmacology hours at the advanced practice level)

Simkin Center at Bastyr

- Birth Doula Skills Workshop

- Postpartum Doula Skills Workshop

- Pre and Perinatal Massage Certification

- Certified Educator of Infant Massage

- Dancing for Birth

To register for any of these workshops, please follow the link here.

Midwifery Today Conference

"Pillars of Midwifery: Insight, Information and Intuition"

Bad Wildbad, Germany

21-25 October 2015

These are some of the topics we plan to present at the conference. Please see the conference program for the complete list of classes.

Human Rights Issue: Premature Cord Cutting with Robin Lim
A Day with Michel Odent: One Thousand and One Possible Topics (full-day class)
Mexican Traditions and Techniques
Comfort Measures for Midwives and Doulas
Midwifery Skills
Handling Birth Complications in Waterbirth
Alternatives to Suturing and Tear Prevention
Physiological Transition of the Newborn
Reclaiming Our Autonomy through Style of Practice
Alternative Remedies for the Childbearing Year
Uncommon Complications
Prolonged Pregnancy: Waiting, Watching, Worrying
Overcoming Fear in Birth

To register please click here.

This is your newsletter. Please send any feedback or suggestions to Amanda Anderson. We welcome suggestions for future topics, popular articles or research to include.

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