ACNM News Release: ACNM Elects New Officers

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF NURSE-MIDWIVES
ELECTS NEW OFFICERS
Minneapolis Midwife Reelected As Vice President

For Immediate Release -- February 29, 2008

Silver Spring, MD - Melissa D. Avery, CNM, PhD, FACNM, of Minneapolis was reelected as the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) Vice President. As Vice President, she will oversee communications with the organization’s divisions and committees.

Avery is a professor and director of the nurse-midwifery education program at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing in Minneapolis.

As Vice President, Avery will continue to focus on the promotion of midwifery. “This is a critical time to increase recognition of the important role of midwives in assuring access to excellent health care for all women,” she says. “I look forward to working with the Board to achieve our identified priorities, including engaging our members in the critical national discussion on health care reform.”

Avery has provided increased access to midwifery education using distance education methodologies. Her research focuses on maintaining access to vaginal birth options for women with previous cesareans and the use of exercise for women with gestational diabetes. She received her master of science in nursing from the University of Kentucky in 1981 and her PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1993.

Avery will be inducted to her three-year term at the ACNM 53rd Annual Meeting in Boston, May 23-29, 2008.

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For more information or to arrange an interview with Melissa Avery, please contact Rebecca Jacob, ACNM Communications Manager at 240-485-1822 or via email at rjacob@acnm.org.

With roots dating to 1929, the American College of Nurse-Midwives is the oldest women's health care association in the U.S. ACNM's mission is to promote the health and well-being of women and infants within their families and communities through the development and support of the profession of midwifery as practiced by certified nurse-midwives and certified midwives. Midwives believe every individual has the right to safe, satisfying health care with respect for human dignity and cultural variations. More information about ACNM can be found at www.midwife.org.

8403 Colesville Road, Ste. 1550, Silver Spring, MD 20910-6374 • Phone: (240) 485-1800 • Fax: (240) 485-1818 • www.midwife.org