# Help (NJ) Midwife to get affiliation with hospital!!!!



## Jimibell (Feb 18, 2003)

Lonnie Morris is the only mw in North NJ who attends hospital births and honors the natural process of birth.

Please, Please help!!!! Especially by calling the Holy Cross Hospital CEO, it seems lots of people are calling. We need your support!!!

Jill

"Hi all,
Unfortunately the medical establishment is again trying to cut us off from having
empowered births. In NJ there are only 2 hospitals that will work with midwives- and one
of them is closing. The midwife group that caught my Ariel needs to find a new hospital to
work with. Please reach out to those on the list below to let the establishment know what
we want.
This is for all of us.
Chandra

From Lonnie Morris (head of the Childbirth Center in Englewood NJ):
To those who have already received this email I am sorry that we are bothering you again.
Clearly we need choices and more clearly to me is that I am unwilling to change my style
and give up on alternatives. It is correct that I am unwilling to separate you from your
baby unless that is your desire, I will not consider labor without a shower/ and or a tub,
and I am not supportive of routine use of technology unless it is medically indicated. It
does not make me very popular with the medical establishment. I am requesting that you
please continue to contact all those on my list. I have added Senator Vitale. Please send
out your email and make calls to both Holy Name and Hackensack so that we can continue
to serve you in NJ. I have also added an email address for Mr Ferguson at Hackensack
Hospital. Thanks again for all of your help.

PLEASE HELP US TO CONTINUE TO SERVE YOU

It seems that in every decade midwives struggle to survive. As I continue on my journey to
serve you, to defend women's rights to choose their provider, to birth babies their babies
normally and with dignity, road blocks always seem to appear. Interventions are
sometimes necessary and I certainly am not against medicine, but rather support the
appropriate use of interventions when necessary. You as a consumer have the right to
choose who will deliver your health care and the kind of birth experience you are entitled
to. And we need your help right now to keep this option open for you.

As you probably know Pascack Valley Hospital is closing due to financial issues and we are
seeking to find privileges at another facility. The best facility seems to be Holy Name
Hospital. We have a high quality group of collaborative physicians applying for privileges
there. This should get us over the major hurdle which was none of the current medical
staff wanted to collaborate with us. Hackensack University Medical Center currently does
not allow midwives on staff. We have a group of fine physicians at the hospital but the
administration refuses to speak with us. Your assistance is needed in lobbying the
appropriate individuals so that we can continue to provide the services that you desire. I
am including a sample letter for you. If you could send my sample email or your own
letter and also make telephone calls to the appropriate state stakeholders I am confident
that we will be successful. Your immediate attention to this is greatly appreciated.

It is vital to contact them by way of a phone call and/or email the list of people below.
Please contact them ASAP.

I know that this it is a lot to ask of you but motherhood and apple pie have always been
successful in the past to turn situations like this around and as the major stakeholder in
this outcome you will make the difference between success and failure.

It seems that midwives are blocked at every turn by established medicine. Policies ensure
that medical care is available and they protect the physicians, but someone has to assist
the patient population who wishes to be cared for by nurse midwives. Please take a few
moments now to dash off your letters or call:

CEO Holy Name Hospital
Michael Marin
[email protected]
201 833-3000

Governor Corzine
www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html
Phone: 609-292-6000

Commissioner Jacobs
www.nj.gov/health/commiss/bio.shtml
Phone 609-292-7837

John P. Ferguson, President
Hackensack University Medical Center
www.humed.com
Phone 201-996-2002
[email protected]

Senator Joseph F. Vitale
732 655-7441
732 855-7558 ? fax
[email protected]

SAMPLE LETTER (simply cut and paste this blurb into your email)

I am a patient of Dr. Lonnie Morris, a midwife located in Englewood, New Jersey. Pascack
Valley Hospital is closing and Dr. Morris needs a hospital affiliation so that my delivery can
be accomplished safely within the confines of a hospital with a midwife attending to me.
Your assistance in having privileges granted to midwives at Holy Name Hospital (or
Hackensack University Medical Center) is requested. I do not wish to change my provider
of obstetrical services. I implore you to have Holy Name Hospital (or Hackensack
University Medical Center) open its staff ranks to midwives. My expected delivery date is
imminent. This is a dire situation and your intervention is essential.

SAMPLE LETTER

I am a concerned person/ Doula/ childbirth educator in the community and I feel strongly
that women have the right to birth their children naturally, with dignity and with a midwife
as my health care provider. Please help us to keep options available to the women in
Bergen and surrounding counties.


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## Jimibell (Feb 18, 2003)

Hi all,

I would really appreciate any support on getting Lonnie an affiliation
at this hospital!!

After all the calls and letters that went in on her behalf, Governor
Corzine called her and asked to meet with her. She also received a
call from Hoboken UMC and they may be interested in offering her an
affiliation.

If you could take the time to contact them that would be great! Let's
show the hospitals that we DO want midwives and that we are consumers
who demand to be heard.

The contact info is:
The email is [email protected], the president is Dr. Joseph
Kozel, his number is 201-418-3031 ext. 3031. If you call you can leave
a message on his voice mail.

This is the letter I emailed, feel free to use all or part of it.

"Dear Dr. Kozel,

My name is Jill Cruz, I am a local mother of two and I have a
community non-profit organization that provides support and
information to pregnant women to help them make informed decisions in
pregnancy and at birth.

I am writing to ask that you please offer an affiliation at Hoboken
University Medical Center to the midwife, Lonnie Morris of The
Childbirth and Women's Wellness Center. The hospital that Dr. Morris
currently has an affiliation with, Pascack Valley Hospital, is closing
and she needs a hospital affiliation so that she can continue to do
the extremely important work of providing pregnant mothers with a
service that they need.

Right now there are many women in Dr. Morris's practice who are
pregnant that do not wish to change their provider of obstetrical
services. I implore you to have Hoboken University Medical Center open
its staff ranks to midwives. There are many of us in this community
who feel strongly that all women should have the option to be attended
by a midwife at their birth.

I also hope that you will take the time to research the financial
advantages of offering midwifery care, both to your hospital and to
our entire health care system. And I hope that you will find it in
your heart to consider that many women desperately wish to be attended
by a caring person throughout their labor, as midwives are trained to
do, while having the reassurance of safety in a hospital. Please
remember that midwives are capable of offering high quality care to
birthing women that goes beyond just having a healthy baby, they can
help women have empowering birth experiences that give them confidence
in their mothering. Lonnie Morris and her team are highly regarded
among many moms in our area and will be an important addition to your
care-provider staff.

Women have the right to birth their children naturally, with dignity
and with a midwife as their health care provider. Please help us to
keep options available to the women in Hudson and surrounding
counties. And in so doing you will be providing a valuable service to
your customers.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours truly,

Jill Cruz
BirthNetwork of Hudson County"

Thank you everyone!

Jill


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