Intermountain Health Nurse-Midwives Celebrate 35-Years, Launches New Gynecology Access Clinic for Women’s Health Concerns
April 29 2024 - 3:05PM
Certified nurse-midwives at Intermountain Health have
been attending births in Utah for 35 years, having started
at Intermountain LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City in
1989.
The are now more than 50 number of certified
nurse-midwives with 16 Utah Intermountain Health hospital
locations in Utah from Logan to St. George.
More than 1,500 births were attended by Intermountain midwives
in 2023. Beginning on May 1, they will be back to what midwives
affectionately refer to as “catching babies” their patients give
birth to at Intermountain LDS Hospital.
“Many people don’t realize that most certified nurse-midwives in
Utah attend births in hospitals,” said Che Fullmer, DNP, CNM, a
certified nurse-midwife with Intermountain Health. “In our practice
alone during the last 35 years, we have attended the births of
nearly 16,000 babies.”
“As midwives, we’ve always been committed to bedside support
throughout labor. In our practice, we work together with our
maternal fetal medicine physicians who have the specialized
expertise to provide care to patients with pregnancy complications.
We like to refer to it as a high touch/high tech collaboration,”
she said.
Not Just Delivering BabiesBut midwives don’t
just deliver babies and provide prenatal care, they also see
patients for a variety of women’s health concerns and conditions
from puberty to menopause, and beyond.
In response to the many healthcare needs unique to women, the
Intermountain Nurse-Midwives have launched a gynecology access
clinic which provides women with access to comprehensive gynecology
care.
Both virtual and in-person appointments are available. Most
patients are seen within a few days, with some same-day
appointments available. Virtual appointments are provided to
patients in Utah.
In-person appointments are available at the Intermountain
Medical Center Nurse-Midwives Clinic in Murray and the new
Intermountain LDS Nurse-Midwives Clinic on the LDS Hospital campus
in Salt Lake City.
There are also plans for other clinics to join the program in
the near future.
What is a Certified Nurse Midwife?The word
midwife literally means ‘with woman’ which is evidenced by the
midwife philosophy to create a relationship and support people in
the choices they make during pregnancy and birth, and to promote
optimal health during pregnancy and at other times of their
lives.
A certified nurse midwife is an advanced practice clinician
who specializes in providing primary care and care related to
reproductive and sexual health to people from all communities, from
the teenage years through menopause and beyond.
The gynecology access clinic can provide timely diagnosis and
treatment for patients with any of the following symptoms or
concerns:
• Abnormal vaginal bleeding or discharge • Pelvic pain,
vaginal pain • Urinary tract infection (UTI) symptoms •
Birth control consultation, prescription, or IUD (intrauterine
device) placement • Sexually transmitted infection (STI)
screening and treatment • Early pregnancy nausea and
vomiting • Depression/anxiety screening and referral to
behavioral health providers • Breast lump or pain •
Menopause/perimenopause symptoms: hot flashes, night sweats, sleep
disruption, hormone fluctuations, vaginal dryness, etc.
For most of these concerns a midwife can provide complete
comprehensive care. If more specialized care is needed, patients
can be referred to an Intermountain OB/GYN, behavioral health
provider, or other specialist and the care is coordinated between
providers.
If a patient already has an Intermountain OB/GYN provider, they
can still be seen in the gynecology access clinic for urgent
concerns, and care will be coordinated with their OB/GYN and they
can see that provider for future needs.
Intermountain nurse-midwives can deliver babies at 16
Utah hospitals including:• Intermountain Alta View
Hospital, Sandy.• Intermountain American Fork Hospital.•
Intermountain Cedar City Hospital.• Intermountain Medical Center,
Murray.• Intermountain Layton Hospital.• Intermountain LDS
Hospital, SLC (beginning May 1).• Intermountain Logan Region
Hospital.• Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital, Ogden.• Intermountain
Orem Community Hospital.• Intermountain Park City Hospital.•
Intermountain Riverton Hospital.• Intermountain Sanpete Valley
Hospital.• Intermountain Sevier Valley Hospital.• Intermountain
Spanish Fork Hospital.• Intermountain St. George Regional
Hospital.• Intermountain Utah Valley Hospital, Provo.
To contact the Intermountain Gynecology Access Clinic,
call 801-408-7041 or go
to intermountainhealth.org
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- Intermountain Health Nurse-Midwives
Lance Madigan
Intermountain Health
385.275.8245
intermountainnews@imail.org