Notes from alumni

Rose Fife, CNM (Bay City, MI, Class of 2000)

I have been working since June 2001 at Bayside Midwifery Services in Bay City, MI; a full scope practice that includes another U of M midwife grad, Laurie Bania.  Our clinic is part of a group of federally-qualified health care clinics collectively known as Health Delivery, Inc., based in Saginaw, MI.  We provide care primarily to Medicaid-insured women, to non-insured women and also migrant women during the summer months.  We do about 1/2 of the total births at Bay Regional Medical Center.

In addition to this position, I have been the Secretary of Region IV, Chapter 7 ACNM since June of 2000.  All of this keeps me extremely busy! 

I keep in touch by email with other Y2KCNMs (as the Class of 2000 called ourselves) and occasionally get to see some of them in person. We all feel blessed that we had such a wonderful group in our class. We all learned so much from each other during our time together at U of M,  and are thankful for our program and for each other.   

Rose Fife, CNM
Class of 2000

Elaine Cole, CNM (Ann Arbor, MI, Class of 1995)

I graduated from the U of M Midwifery program in 1995. Upon graduation, I immediately joined Leland and Associates at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was a very interesting challenge as one day I was a nurse on labor and delivery at St. Joes and the next day I was the first midwife to do births there. In October of 2002, the "Mercy Midwives" celebrated delivering over 500 babies with a reunion for families we have served since our inception in 1995. What fun that was!

In October, 2003, I was happy to announce the addition of my new partner, Hellen Harley. We provide full scope practice and work with two collaborating physicians. Our practice philosophy is that we view pregnancy and childbirth as natural family-centered life events. These life changes require personalized attention and are enhanced by care that focuses on each woman's individual needs. We believe that every woman should be an active and informed partner in managing her own health care. We take the time to listen to women and provide comprehensive information to them about their bodies and health. This approach enables women to make knowledgeable health care and lifestyle choices.

Elaine Cole, CNM
Class of 1995