Erin Wathen, 7, one of this year’s American Heart Association’s Heart Walk participants, runs with her brother Stephen, 11. (photo by Dana Johnson)
Nurse-midwife practice opens
Finding a certified nurse-midwife just got easier.
The Vanderbilt Nurse-Midwifery Faculty Practice recently opened a new office in Medical Center North as part of the Women’s Health Center.
The move will bring another component of women’s health to the Vanderbilt Medical Center as well as provide clients easier access to the hospital’s facilities.
“Our practice has been around for six years,” says Lori Cabbage, MSN, FNP, CNM. “But we have been in various urban and rural locations, none of them on campus. We have always talked about being on campus and having our services readily available for clients. The proximity of the hospital is ideal.”
The practice consists of two certified nurse-midwives – Cabbage and Rosemary Janofsky, MSN, CNM. Janofsky is the longest continuing practicing nurse-midwife in Nashville.
The pair also sees clients at Vine Hill Clinic, one of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Faculty Practice sites. Since announcing the opening of the Medical Center campus, the patient rolls have increased.
“The physicians and staff members here are very supportive,” Cabbage says. “If there are clients in physician practices asking about our services, they refer them.
“Many of the physicians have trained with nurse-midwives and understand our practice and see us as a complement to what they are offering. We are simply offering another component of health care.”
At Vanderbilt the primary physician consultant for the nurse-midwifery practice is Dr. Connie Graves, assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Focusing on teamwork and excellent outcomes, the collaborative partnership with physicians makes nurse-midwifery a viable and appealing option at Vanderbilt.
Nurse-midwives focus a lot of their client care on education, birthing choices and relationships. One misconception about nurse-midwifery is that patients will not be able to use pain relief, such as epidurals or other medical intervention.
“We would like to offer all options to our clients,” Cabbage says. “If they choose an epidural then that is OK, as long as they are educated about it. That’s what we emphasize – we allow more time for office visits, spend a good amount of time educating, building relationships and focusing on less intervention.
“We do interventions only if it is medically necessary. When you see a nurse-midwife at Vanderbilt, you are getting the best of both worlds – add the expertise of the physicians we work with and we have the best of the best.”
An open house will be held Monday, Oct. 23 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Women’s Health Center in Medical Center North.
For more information about the services of certified nurse-midwives and the open house, page Cabbage at 923-9322. For appointments call 322-6173.