Global InformationRuth Lubic information
Ruth Lubic | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 18, 1927 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Teachers College, Columbia University |
| Medical career | |
| Awards | Hattie Hemschemeyer Award Gustav O. Lienhard Award MacArthur Fellowship Florence Nightingale Medal |
Ruth Watson Lubic, CNM, EdD, FAAN, FACNM, (born January 18, 1927) is an American nurse-midwife and applied anthropologist who pioneered the role of nurse-midwives as primary care providers for women, particularly in maternity care.[1] Lubic is considered to be one of the leaders of the nurse-midwifery movement in the United States.
Lubic holds an RN diploma (1955) from Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, a certificate in nurse-midwifery (1962) from the Maternity Center Association (MCA), and a BS in nursing (1959), MA in medical/surgical nursing (1961), and EdD in Applied Anthropology (1979) from Teachers College, Columbia University.[1][2] Lubic has also been awarded honorary doctorates from six universities.[3]
Lubic co-founded two legally sanctioned, freestanding birth centers in New York City: the Childbearing Center (1975), which served middle-class families of Upper East Side Manhattan, and the Morris Heights Childbearing Center (1988), which served the lower-income families of the South Bronx.[4] By focusing on providing safe and family-centered maternity care, education, and services, these birth centers served as effective alternatives to institutionalized obstetric care.[1][4] In 1993, Lubic became the first nurse to receive the MacArthur Fellowship, the “Genius Grant,” which included a $375,000 prize.[5][6] Lubic utilized the $375,000 grant to found her third birth center, the Family Health and Birth Center in the collaborative of the Developing Families Center in Washington, D.C. (2000), where the maternal and infant mortality rates were the highest in the United States.[6][7] The Family Health and Birth Center has had a significant impact in Washington, D.C., as demonstrated by the decreased rates of cesarean sections, preterm births, and low birth weight newborns when compared to those of the city's.[8] The center has also saved the city's health care system an estimated cost of over $1 million each year.[8]
Lubic has been widely recognized for her work as a nurse-midwife. She was the 1983 recipient of the Hattie Hemschemeyer Award from the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the 2001 recipient of the Gustav O. Lienhard Award from the National Academy of Medicine, and one of the 2001 Living Legend honorees from the American Academy of Nursing.[9] She is currently Founder and President Emerita of the Developing Families Center and Founder of the Family Health and Birth Center.[10]
- ^ a b c Lewenson, Sandra B.; Truglio-Londrigan, Marie (20 January 2016). Practicing Primary Health Care in Nursing: Caring for Populations. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. ISBN 9781284120158.
- ^ "The Call of the Midwife | Teachers College Columbia University". Teachers College - Columbia University. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "Ruth Watson Lubic papers". dla.library.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ a b Houser, Beth; Player, Kathy (2007). Pivotal Moments in Nursing: Leaders who Changed the Path of a Profession. Volume II. Sigma Theta Tau. ISBN 9781930538191.
- ^ "Ruth Watson Lubic - MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ a b Ly, Phuong (27 May 2007). "A Labor Without End". ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "The Midwife On A Mission". Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ a b "PROFILES: Labor of Love: Nurse Midwife Ruth Watson Lubic". www.nursingcenter.com. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "Living Legends - American Academy of Nursing Main Site". www.aannet.org. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
- ^ "Staff Directory : Developing Families Center". www.developingfamilies.org. Retrieved 2 December 2018.