Director of URI Midwifery Center
at Memorial Hospital of R.I. named
American College of Nurse-Midwives fellow
KINGSTON, R.I. -- February 28, 2000 --The director of nurse-midwifery
education in the College of Nursing at the University of Rhode Island has
been named a fellow in the American College of Nurse-Midwives.
Dr. Holly Powell Kennedy, a certified nurse-midwife, from East Providence,
is one of only 12 new fellows to be elected by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.
This honor is given to those midwives who have shown evidence of having
exercised positive leadership with the College and/or make significant contributions
to the professional growth of midwifery through teaching, research, journalism,
patient care or community service on a local, state or international level.
Kennedy, who earned her Ph.D. in nursing from URI this year, is also
the director of the URI Center for Midwifery at Memorial Hospital of Rhode
Island in Pawtucket. A midwife for 16 years, Kennedy earned her
diploma in nursing from Miami Valley Hospital School of Nursing in Dayton,
Ohio, her bachelor of general studies from Chaminade University in Honolulu,
and her master of science in nursing from the Medical College of Georgia.
She obtained her certificate in nurse-midwifery from the Frontier School
of Midwifery and Family Nursing in Hyden, Ky. Kennedy is a native of Dayton,
and is a graduate of Stebbins High School there.
Much of Kennedy's research on the experience and process of midwifery
care has been published in leading national scholarly journals.
After receiving her certification in nurse-midwifery, she returned to
Rhode Island where, from 1985 through 1989, she worked with the American
College of Nurse-Midwives' Legislative Committee to lobby for two statutes
in Rhode Island. After three years of intense legislative activity, the
General Assembly gave nurse-midwives authority to issue prescriptions and
made it possible for nurse-midwives to obtain third-party payments from
insurers. During this period, she was asked to testify before the Children's
Health Commission on the role of nurse-midwifery in providing primary care
to families. She was awarded a Governor's Citation in 1997 for her work
on barriers to primary care in Rhode Island.
In 1997, Kennedy was named director of the URI midwife program.
Kennedy is also a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving on active
duty during the Vietnam era. She is currently assigned at the Walter Reed
Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
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For Further Information: Dave Lavallee 401-874-2116
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