Interview with Wanda Morgan, February 15, 1994

Interview Summary

Morgan got her diploma in nursing from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW). She went to work with Ruth Blevins of Frontier Nursing at Brutus Clinic in KY from which she graduated as family NP-Nurse Practitioner and CNM-Certified Nurse Midwife. Prior to studying toward a BSN at UK she worked as nurse midwife. By 1988, she had gone back into frontier nursing full-time. In 1991, Morgan started as director of the Nurse Midwifery Service at Pattie A. Clay Hospital which is part of the Southern Kentucky AHEC-Area Health Education Center supported by the BGADD-Bluegrass Area Development District.
She describes her work in getting the nurse midwifery service started. It was easy because the nurses were pro-midwife and pro-choice, the administration was supportive of the new family care concept, and the "low-tech" leader of the physician consults, also was supporting midwifery. By-laws were changed to include nurse midwifery in the admission privileges. Problems in the OVP-Office of the Vice President meeting as a result of the new family centered concept were overcome. Morgan discusses pros and cons of nurse midwifery. She also talks about funding. She mentions V. Jenkins, Asst. Nursing Administrator, who knew that a nurse midwifery educational program was needed at Pattie A. Clay with branching out into more counties. They were pre-accepting students from the Frontier Nursing CNEP- Community-based Nurse-Midwifery Educational Program. Carol Hogue's pregnancy risk assessment model is mentioned in connection with the need to train a law conscious new generation of nurse midwives. Cooperation between UK physicians, certified nurse midwives, and the rural private midwives is needed. Morgan is a member of the Service Director Network, an ACNM-independent organization.

Interview LC Subject

Childbirth Maternal health services Midwifery Midwives Morgan, Wanda Morgan, Wanda--Interviews Nursing--Study and teaching

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