409 12th St SW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20024
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409 12th St SW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20024
First, I must thank the board for their hard work and commitment to ACNM and its members. In my time here, we have been challenged in many directions, and yet we are still here. We suffered significant turnover within the National Office in 2022, which at times made it difficult for our members to determine who to contact to address specific needs. We also recovered from the departure of our past CEO and Executive Assistant, placing our focus on rebuilding under the leadership of our new highly experienced executive management team. I can say with confidence that we are in great hands with CEO Michelle Munroe, supported by her highly capable Executive Assistant, Liliana Mecke. From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of the staff who have shown commitment and passion to stay and support ACNM in the efforts to rebuild and reimagine.
When I look back over my term, I am inspired by the tenacity and vigor of midwives, specifically ACNM Midwives. 2022 and 2023 were years of growth, change, and rising to challenges. In this time, ACNM emerged from the Pandemic in an era of rapid political and cultural change. With PPE funding exhausted, it became evident that we faced significant organizational and financial challenges.
We did not meet financial projections of attendees, exhibitors or sponsors for the 2022 hybrid annual meeting in Chicago. In addition, multiple IT problems related to the implementation and rollout of the new AMS system left members scrambling to join or renew their membership. The technical glitches also caused problems with communications in Connect. For months, ACNM continued to lose funds and members, some of whom ceased to renew their membership due to the frustration and lack of trust in the organization. Despite withholding payment to the subcontractor, the board and national staff were helpless to resolve problems with the new AMS system until the responsible party was able to fully diagnose and fix the operating system. Staff manually reached out to members whose subscriptions to ACNM was lapsed to assist them in renewing. I am happy to report that many of the technical problems with the AMS are now resolved; however, we have lost members and will continue to work hard to win back your financial support and trust.
The 2021-2024 Strategic Plan continued to be implemented, shifting ACNM’s priorities to adapt to changes in membership, the midwifery profession, and the current landscape for maternal health care. ACNM’s 2021-2024 Strategic Plan puts our shared vision, mission, and values into action, positioning ACNM to be a catalyst for midwifery capacity, education, advocacy, and practice in the United States. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging remained ACNM’s number one strategic goal and priority. The organization took a holistic approach to addressing change, working with a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging (DEIB) partner to create a DEIB Strategic Plan that incorporates member feedback and previous work to develop meaningful goals and initiatives.
As we look to reimagine and rebuild in the years ahead, we can look back at the past years over the successes and opportunities for growth to inform our future steps – being bold in our approach to elevating this profession and midwives globally.
We must return to our vision of midwifery for every community and our mission: To support midwives, advance the practice of midwifery, and achieve optimal, equitable health outcomes for the people and communities midwives serve.
I continue to be inspired and touched by the support and commitment to midwifery and ACNM that I witnessed from many of you. When you learned about the organization’s financial crisis, instead of turning your backs; you asked, “What can I do to help?” Your ongoing membership, encouragement of friends and colleagues to join and your presence are some of the best ways that you can help. We thank you for your support to ACNM; your professional organization.
I invite you to explore the 2023 Annual Report to see the many successes ACNM accomplished. Finally, I want to celebrate and thank the over 1145 midwives, supporters and allies who joined ACNM in Orlando for the 69th Annual Meeting. We hope everyone came away learning something new, made a new friend, and with renewed commitment to participate in rebuilding and reimagining ACNM’s future as a successful professional organization to advocate for your needs and the people you serve.
In the words of our new CEO “With all new leaders, there comes change.” We are excited for the changes in the future to build a better organization to support midwives and meet our vision and mission.
Thank you.
Reviewing the Articles of Incorporation, established in 1955 and amended in May 1997, I saw issues we are working on today. I wanted to share the original articles with you.
The objectives of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, as expressed in the Articles of Incorporation and as amended through May 1997, reflect midwives’ concern for quality health care for women and for infants and to the assumption of the “grave responsibilities” alluded to by Hattie Hemschemeyer that the objectives of said corporation shall be:
They are specifically relevant to the purpose of ACNM today. We have come so far, yet we have so much work to do.
As we continue to fight issues like maternal mortality, equity, belonging, and much more, I see the importance of ACNM and its mission and vision. I understand midwives’ passion and the many areas of expertise that go unrecognized. I want to change that.
I started with the organization as Interim CEO in May 2023, almost halfway through the year. There was approximately an 80% staff turnover rate. We were without a finance team for six months into the year and moved to an entirely new system for finances and membership. After the previous CEO left on April 27th, past president Cathy Collins-Fulea stepped in to run the annual meeting in Florida. ACNM is forever grateful for her leadership and wisdom during this time.
Once taking on the role of Interim CEO, we reduced redundancies and maximized efficiencies throughout the organization. One of our first steps was validating the new system with our affiliates’ information. This effort was a win-win for the national office and the affiliate. We moved from the Silver Spring office to our new location on the 6th floor of the ACOG building in downtown DC, reducing our monthly cost by 78% for this one expenditure. There has been much change, and ACNM will improve in the long run.
Despite the many challenges, we have made great strides to move ACNM forward. Our membership has been stable at approximately 4,000 members, which includes 800 students. Our accounting team was able to validate our new system and the information within it. The old saying holds: Garbage in, garbage out. We had to get to a space where we could validate the data we saw. We hired a marketing team to help with social media, graphics, etc. The advocacy work continues for the Midwives for Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services (MOMS) Act and the Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act, which have been reintroduced into legislation. We also have supported Congresswoman Lauren Underwood and Alma Adams’s Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, a package of bills to end the U.S. maternal health crisis. Great news for midwifery: HRSA invested $8 million in training more nurse midwives by supporting ten midwifery programs to grow the workforce and expand access to care. Additionally, $15 million was secured for scholarships for disadvantaged students. Our education department was also busy with 14,524 CE credits earned, 2,418 active users, and 37 live webinars.
Midwives are dedicated professionals who have a passion for midwifery. Our impact can be seen in all we do. I truly appreciate all the members who have stuck with us through many changes.
I am looking forward to the many accomplishments that we will have in 2024. We are stronger together.
409 12th St SW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20024