St. Elizabeth School Of Nursing Alumna Believes Collaborative Care May Lower Maternal Mortality Rates

COLUMBUS, Indiana - Originally planning to become a doctor, Kyra Betts, MSN, CNM, changed direction after her own experience as a patient. She is now a certified nurse midwife and believes accessibility to education and providing a collaborative care model with midwives in hospitals may be the key to decreasing Indiana's high mortality rate.

While studying to get into medical school, Betts experienced a high-risk pregnancy. Through this experience, she saw how much more of a relationship she was able to build with her nurses and realized she had found her true calling. She changed course and looked for a program with direct patient experience close to home and found St. Elizabeth School of Nursing.

"St. Elizabeth made it very easy for me to apply and get in and do all the things I needed based on credits I'd already received," said Betts. "I actually really loved going into clinicals right away. I think that was the main thing that gave me some confidence with my bedside manner."

After working as a travel nurse and continuing her education even further, she is now a certified nurse midwife with OBGYN Associates through Columbus Regional Health in Columbus, Indiana. Her experience and her passion for building a one-on-one relationship with patients has given Betts a strong viewpoint on the ideal care pregnant mothers should receive.

"I love being part of the process of giving moms as close to what their ideal birth story looks like as possible. I like to sit, I like to connect with people, I like to be assuring, but I also like to be very honest, and I love educating them," she said. "I feel like with our maternal mortality rate, there are a lot of things we can prevent if we properly educate these moms. I absolutely love being part of the solution to a worldwide problem."

When asked what she believes can help reverse Indiana's high maternal mortality rates, she said, "Resources are a big deal…Often we see people who can afford the resources, but they're not getting to the people who really need them." She also believes that midwives are a huge step in the right direction. "We typically give birth more time. We give the body more time within a safe range and can practice in homes, freestanding birth centers and hospitals—which is where I practice and feel safe and supported."

Betts believes that having midwives in a hospital environment is ideal and provides a more holistic approach with the ability to take more time with a patient and their concerns. Combined with a hospital's emergency services, the collaborative care model is more hands-on and safer.

"I have seen some beautiful home and birth center births," said Betts, "but my personal preference as a provider is practicing in a hospital."

With maternal mortality rates rising in the United States, providers like Betts who take the time to provide ideal birthing experiences, education and a listening ear to their patients, are needed more than ever. Additionally, educational programs like St. Elizabeth School of Nursing, which emphasizes hands-on, clinical experience early in its curriculum, may help to turn the focus of medicine more on the individualized needs of its patients.

To learn more about St. Elizabeth School of Nursing, located in Lafayette, Indiana, or to apply, visit steson.org.