The Rutgers collaboration involves a health care network specializing in obstetrics, gynecology, fertility, maternal-fetal medicine, midwifery and laboratory services
Rutgers School of Nursing and Axia Women's Health, announce a strategic partnership that will enhance clinical rotation opportunities for nurse-midwifery students.
The collaboration will allow students to gain practical, real-world experience by working at one of Axia Women's Health's 100-plus locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The company operates one of the largest, integrated health care networks dedicated to women, specializing in obstetrics, gynecology, fertility, maternal-fetal medicine, urogynecology, behavioral health, mammography, midwifery and laboratory services.
"This partnership is an exciting opportunity to expand our clinical site options for students," said Julie Blumenfeld, clinical associate professor and nurse-midwifery program director at Rutgers School of Nursing at Rutgers Health. "We're thrilled to be working with the highly skilled providers at Axia Women's Health to ensure our students graduate with the relevant skills needed to deliver exceptional patient care with confidence and compassion."
In the United States, the share of births attended by midwives has steadily increased in the past decade, with midwives now attending about 12% of births nationwide.
At the same time, the Association of American Colleges and Universities projects a shortage of 86,000 physicians by 2036, highlighting the role advanced practice providers, including nurse-midwives, play in expanding access to care and supporting positive women's health outcomes. Midwifery care has been shown to reduce caesarean section rates and increase successful vaginal births in the low-risk population, lowering the risk of complications for expectant mothers.
"We're proud to help train and support the next generation of advanced practice providers," said Thomas Dardarian, chief medical officer of Axia Women's Health. "These providers play a critical role each day in our care centers, working in collaboration with our physicians to provide high-quality, patient-centric, comprehensive, and cost-effective women's health care."
The partnership is now in effect, and students are actively being placed throughout Axia Women's Health locations. Officials with the School of Nursing and Axia Women's Health expect to increase placement capacity in the years ahead as demand continues to grow.
