The Chief Executive Officer for South Eastman Health believes the region's midwifery program is one of the biggest and best in the province. The program started in 2000, and Monique Vielfaure Mackenzie says in the last fiscal year their three midwives attended 114 births in the region. Fifteen of those were home births, 87 births were at regional hospitals and the remaining were delivered in Winnipeg hospitals.
   
Vielfaure Mackenzie says with three midwives, the RHA is still short two, but that's about to change. She says they just recently provided an offer to a new midwife who has accepted a half time position and there is also a student who did practicum in the region that may be on staff by Fall. That would bring the RHA to 4.5 midwives.
   
Vielfaure Mackenzie says there is a huge demand for the service in the region. In fact she says they're turning away patients because of a lack of resources. Vielfaure Mackenzie notes women in the region really seem to desire this kind of service and so their midwives have always been more than maxed out and so the RHA could definitely accommodate more patients and more midwives.


~ Tuesday, July 6th 2010 ~