AABC News Brief - FEB 03 2023
3 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Apply for Scholarship to Attend How to Start a Birth Center Workshop
Amy Ellen Polk Memorial Scholarship
Application Deadline: March 7th
Do you want to attend the AABC How to Start a Birth Center Workshop but need financial assistance to do so? Apply for the AABC Foundation's Amy Ellen Polk Memorial Scholarship.
The AABC Foundation plans to multiple scholarships which are provided in the form of a tuition grant to attend an AABC How to Start a Birth Center Workshop. The comprehensive workshop is offered in two formats online and in-person. The online course allows you to complete it at your own pace, in your own home. The in-person workshop is a two-day, hands-on conference in a major U.S. city. In 2023, the in-person workshop will be offered in Tucson, Arizona in conjunction with the annual AABC Birth Institute. An additional travel stipend is awarded if the recipient is attending an in-person workshop.
Learn more about the Amy Ellen Polk Memorial Scholarship>>
Register for February IRC Office Hours
IRC Office Hours - February 25th at 12:00PM ET
Are you having difficulty getting in network with payors? Has contracting got you down? In February, join Industry Relations Committee members Erica Biesinger and Laura Wiegand for an open Q+A session. Bring your challenges with getting sustainable reimbursement. We will brainstorm solutions together.
AABC membership is required for IRC Office Hours. Registration is free and open to all AABC members.
Advocating for Improved Access to NRP Training for Community Birth Providers
In the fall of 2022, AABC leadership collaborated with the directors of the North American American Registry of Midwives (NARM), the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers (CABC), and the AABC Birth Center Focused NRP instructors to compose a letter to the NRP Steering Committee (part of the American Academy of Pediatrics). The letter was co-signed by the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM), the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), Birth Center Equity, and Elephant Circle, and sent in December of 2022.
This letter proposes several steps towards improving access to NRP training for community birth workers. First, we recommended that there be a formal position for a midwife on the Steering Committee, preferably one from the community birth setting. We asked for reconsideration of the policy that new instructors are based in a hospital practice. We pointed out key differences between settings, giving examples such as initial ventilation with the umbilical cord still connected and training gaps in the emergency medical systems that respond to birth centers, asking for future consideration in development of training and the algorithm.
These ideas align with another strategic goal, which is to advocate for AAP language that references birth centers as the initial level of care for planned birth. Our readiness for neonatal emergencies includes training, equipment, supplies and drills, representing a significant component of birth center costs and deserving appropriate reimbursement.
The NRP Steering Committee has acknowledged receipt of this letter and promised consideration. In the meantime, three new “general” positions to the Steering Committee have opened for application. The faculty of the AABC Birth Center Focused NRP program are encouraging their network of “midwifery led neonatal response” instructors to apply.
Learn more about the AABC Birth Center Focused NRP program>>