Susan Stone, DNSc, CNM, FACNM,FAAN, president of Frontier Nursing University, has been named president-elect of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM). ACNM is the professional association that represents certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) in the United States. With roots dating to 1929, ACNM is the oldest women’s health care organization in the United States. The organization’s elected leaders play an important role in guiding the midwifery profession.
Stone has been working alongside the current ACNM president for one year and officially begin her term as president after the ACNM 63rd Annual Meeting in Savannah, Ga., in May 2018. Stone has been active in ACNM for nearly 25 years. She has also served for more than 10 years with the ACNM’s collaborative partner, the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME), and as chair of ACME’s Board of Commissioners for four years. As president, she will be responsible for establishing and carrying out the goals and objectives of ACNM.
“Our goal is to educate health care providers and the public about the value of midwifery, and the positive outcomes that result from our evidence-based practice,” said Stone. “Midwives are increasingly important as a solution to the impending shortage of obstetrical providers. As president of ACNM, my focus will be on reducing legislative barriers for midwifery practice, continuing to establish effective collaborative relationships with other health care providers and developing strategies to dramatically increase and diversify the midwifery workforce.”
Stone has worked in the field of reproductive health care for women for over 30 years. She is an early graduate of Frontier Nursing University’s (FNU) distance education nurse-midwifery program and practiced full scope midwifery care for several years. Believing that having more nurse-midwives would ultimately serve the goal of improved health care outcomes for women, she shifted her focus to the education of nurse-midwives. She has served as president of FNU for the last 16 years. During this time, the University has grown from 200 students to the current enrollment of nearly 2,000 students. Stone continues in the role of FNU president with a goal of improving health care for families through increasing the number of well-prepared nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners.
