tracyryan October 6th, 2008
Amy Swagman is close associate of ours and she has posted a great philosophy when it comes to birth options. Check it out at http://birthingbody.org/philosophy/
I also think the page is really neat because it features some pics of Tracy, Cassie and Nancy. — Joel, 10/06/08
tracyryan October 6th, 2008
Besides having a really cool name for a fitness expert, Jamie Atlas is a truly nice guy with a wealth of knowledge about the human body and its proper fitness. While he was at the center with his wife, we got to talk about a chronic back problem of mine that he helped me to properly stretch out. It was an instant help and I still use the stretch. He also helped me out with some shoulder and feet issues.
With a pregnant wife, Jamie did a survey of pregnancy workouts and wasn’t overawed by what he saw. As a more pragmatic alternative, he came up with a series of exercises that address real movements. I’ve looked at them and as a 5-time dad, I think they’re great. How many fit people do you know that throw out their back or strain a shoulder trying to pick up their kiddo? I could raise my hand, so I think Jamie’s abbreviated workout on his website is a great addition to the usual schedule of exercises. He’s got the exercises on his blog, scroll down to the Aug 27th post — http://jamieatlas.wordpress.com/
For more about Jamie, click on the “about” link — http://jamieatlas.wordpress.com/about/
tracyryan August 16th, 2008
It’s a rainy day in Denver and I’m listening to David Gray and I just can’t get started on the billing or any other paperwork. Instead, I need to tell you about Tracy’s mom, Sandi. Sandi passed away last Thursday, Aug 7th. We had the funeral this Tuesday.
Sandi was part of the team here at Mountain Midwifery. She’s in the staff picture on our website and sitting with Tracy and I in the photo that accompanied our article in 5280 magazine. She was a huge reason for Mountain Midwifery Center’s existence. Not only was she a very supportive Grandma, taking the kids so we could put in extra hours and helping us to shoulder the parenting responsibilities, she was also an underpaid team member that did a huge amount of work. She took over professional billing when our first billing agent totally screwed it all up. She figured out facility billing too, which is a massive contribution. And she pulled a lot of receptionist duty at the same time.
Sandi had her faults. She could be a little short with clients, mostly because she was very protective of Tracy. So if she thought you were taking advantage in some way, showing up late or not paying your client responsibility - watch out. She also got on some of the nurses too. Oh yeah - that’s another thing. She was also one of our nurses. She attended multiple births and she cleaned the place better than anybody. Really, she did more at the birth center than anybody except Tracy.
So we all miss Sandi for many reasons. Of course, what Tracy and I and the boys really miss is her as our mom, mom-in-law, and grandma. She had a huge heart for us, for our boys and for our “cause” here at MMC. Sure she could be demanding on them, but she loved to take the boys to the zoo, see ‘em in sports, all that. Sure she and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye, especially if Tracy and I were arguing about business decisions (see protective nature in previous paragraph), but she always helped and didn’t hold it against me for too long. And sure she could get a little crabby with the occasional client, but I also saw clients bring cakes and other gifts specifically to her. I guess it’s a little weird to discuss “work” so much, but this place is more than just a job and Sandi was more to us than just one title like nurse or grandma or mom or the many others she filled. She was a truly interesting person with an eclectic personality; she loved a good beer (Fat Tire), classical music (Pachabel’s Canon), motorcycles (BMW), good clothes (Talbot’s), adventure travel (hiked Macchu Piccu) and so much more.
We miss you Sandi.
You’ll have to listen close because the spot (how’s that for cool radio lingo)… because the spot is only 5 seconds long. Still, we’ll be on the radio for 2 weeks, about 110 spots in all. Schedule starts Monday, July 28th and ends Sunday, Aug 10th. Unfortunately I wasn’t given exact times.
Sorry if we didn’t pick your favorite station - we chose KBCO because it has the biggest audience and the point of the ad is to just widely broadcast that we’re here, that we exist.
We’ve been considering this for a while and we think now’s a good time as we’re more settled in our new additional space. So keep your ears peeled :)
tracyryan June 16th, 2008
So weve been in the new space (Suite 500) for almost a month. I guess I should have put that out here sooner, but there’s still lots to do - a little more furniture, put up the rest of our art, get the new network computer thing working for us, and more. The birth center is still upstairs in Suite 400, but it’s already helping out to have the bigger class space and the more functional admin space. Come by and check it out! Get a free bumper sticker 
tracyryan June 16th, 2008
This sounds a little crazy, but we just had a client who just had a successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) tell us that she was asked “Why did you choose Mountain Midwifery? Aren’t they anti-VBAC?” (The client had done her prenatal and some of her postpartum care with us.)
Well, of course we aren’t anti-VBAC, but I guess our FAQs page was a little unclear under the heading “Is the Birth Center right for me?” So Tracy and I fixed that. I think the point is now more clear that we can provide prenatal care for more women than we can admit in labor to the facility.
tracyryan April 16th, 2008
Wow, it’s been a while since I blogged last - we’ve been SUPER busy. Here’s an update on what’s going on…
1st, we are growing in space. Construction on the additional 1400 sq ft began 2 weeks ago and is going really well. Jeff and his crew from eBuildingService are doing great! The space is going to be really pretty and will be an excellent space for education; the space is dominated by a large center room for classes and centering pregnancy.
2nd, we’re growing in our IT and communication capabilities. For hardware, we’re adding phone lines, getting a bigger, better fax machine, a server, yadda yadda yadda. For software, we’re moving to Elligence, a really nice practice management suite that will support more efficient billing, scheduling and account management. As our current and prior clients know, our clinical / medical service is top notch but our admin support can be a little slow with our current paper-based practices.
3rd, we’re growing in staff. We’re adding nurses and midwives. Bummer that we’re losing Nancy to University (with good blessings both ways and it’s great to have a stronger relationship with University), but in addition to Sarit (already started), we’re also being joined by Cassie this month.
4th, we’re growing in our services. We’re hosting a doula training program that’s being run by Cocoon enterprises. Doulas are great for personal, one-on-one support for new moms so it’s great to have doulas so available in the center.
We are so thankful to all the folks who’ve contributed and made this growth possible. Current and former staff, current and former clients and so many others that have helped out along the way.
tracyryan February 1st, 2008
So we made the front page! The Summit Daily News did an article on birth alternatives that prominently features the center. Many thanks to Heather (a great doula who works with us) and Tracy (a client that lives in Summit County) for working with the paper. It is surprising how many mountain moms drive down for their care here.
The quotes from Tracy (my wife and owner) are classic. So also many thanks to Lory Pounder, the author, for doing such a great job. Here’s a link to the article, “More mountain moms exploring alternative birth options” http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20080128/NEWS/777736034
The hard copy is better because of the great pictures of mom and baby. — Joel
tracyryan December 31st, 2007
So we thought our next real post or edit to the web site would be adding baby pictures and a couple birth stories done by our clients, but we’ve been too busy with new clients (and the holidays too). Although word-of-mouth has done wonders for us, a lovely article in the December issue of 5280 magazine has generated an amazing response! (cover article is Best New Restaurants)
Josh Berman is a great guy; he visited with us multiple times and wrote a great article. Unfortunately we’re not featured on their website, but the print article is very nice. Thank you Josh! — Joel and Tracy
tracyryan November 10th, 2007
We were happy to sponsor a screening of The Business of Being Born. The screening was hosted by Xylem Family Resource as a benefit screening. Xylem is a wonderful organization; learn more at http://www.xylemfamily.org/ .
The Business of Being Born is a great movie that we can’t stop talking about. To learn more, you can visit the web site: http://thebusinessofbeingborn.com/
Actually, I don’t think the website does the film justice. I was very impressed with the many facets of birth in America that the film presented. While following her own birth story, the director interviews a number of experts and shares the shocking facts about the U.S. birth industry. Inspired by the home birth experience of their freind Rikki Lake, Abby Epstein and her partner begin making the film before learning they’re also expecting. The couple chooses a homebirth midwife. The camera follows this midwife and she adds greatly to the film, but the couple’s personal story and birth becomes the center piece of the film. In a true surprise twist, they end up in an emergency transfer. Mom and baby are fine.
In my mind (Joel here), the unplanned transfer makes the film transcend being an opinion piece to being an example on film of what needs to take place in America. We need to join the rest of the developed world and make Midwifery the standard model of birth care. Only then can we improve our abysmal statistics. Only then will women not be forced to choose between home and hospital to choose a midwife. For too many women, it’s one or the other. That’s where the Mountain Midwifery Center stands - in the gap between home and hospital. Of course we support natural birth, and when a transfer or a consultation is needed, we’re naturals at that too. Midwifery centers, birth places where midwifery is central and unchallenged, can be a system of care that can support the whole nation. That’s my personal opinion of course. The film is less specific. But it’s a great film that everyone that may have a child, has a child, or has a mom, should see. I guess that’s everyone. — Joel
