Hello, Andrea,
I was surprised that I did not receive your return grievance complaint form in the mail. I thought you must have decided to pursue another route.
I take this very seriously. I will check the mail again to see if your complaint has arrived. If it has not, you will need to re-send the form because the committee cannot continue without the paperwork.
I am very sorry for this delay and will let you know what I find in the mail.
Sincerely,
Deborah Smithey
Grievance Committee Chair
Nov 1
I already see the game your counsel is about to play. I know I sent the
forms two days after I received notice from your board. Please let's not play games to protect midwives. I will not wait on you to send forms out again. The form said that I only had 10 days from that day to respond. Why wouldn't I have sent it back. I lost a child and this is not a game.
I'm glad I made copies
Andrea
To grievance@missourimidwivesassociation.org
Nov 1
I don't like to correspond through the mail about a death that takes to long. This is urgent. I can bring you the forms to your headquaters. Where are you located and I Will be there.
Nov 1
I am definately not playing games. MMA mail is forwarded from our mailbox in Springfield, MO. We have received 2 letters since I sent the forms to you and neither of them was your reply. Obviously we cannot proceed if we do not receive your formal complaint.
I suggest you contact the North American Registry of Midwives if you do not want to use the MMA Grievance process. Like I said in the letter I mailed you, MMA does not have any real power over the midwife. If you are serious about your complaint you should contact NARM because they are the ones who have the power to sanction her credential or take it away.
NARM General Information:
Debbie Pulley
5257 Rosestone Dr.
Lilburn, GA 30047
888-842-4784 or 770-381-9051
info@narm.org
NARM Accountablility Department:
Sincerely,
Deborah Smithey
MMA Grievance Chair
grievance@missourimidwivesassociation.org
Dec 2 at 1:17 PM
Dear Andrea McGhee,
We have received your signed Grievance Acknowledgement Form and will continue processing your case. We will contact you when your input is needed.
Please do not contact me on the business phone for my midwifery practice. My staff is not part of the MMA Grievance Review Board and it is inappropriate for them to take your call.
Sincerely,
Deborah Smithey
MMA GRB Chair
cc: Rachel Williston, MMA President
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grievance@missourimidwivesassociation.org
president
Dec 2 at 5:24 PM
Let me just say this ,
I never talked to anyone of your staff members your not being honest. Yes I called a few times and got no answer and today is the first day I decided to leave a message. I got the voicemail every time I called and today was the first day I left a message because you informed me that you were going to Springfield to see if my response was received. I lost my daughter and you want to talk to me like I am interrupting your practice. I don't care how you or your staff members feel about a mother calling. Maybe your the wrong person for the position of Chair of the Grievance Board. You just don't like me bugging you about this issue or maybe the way I'm talking to you is not polite enough. It is your responsibility as a member of the grievance board to make sure a families claim is processed properly and to not give people the run around because it is not your problem. Who cares how a mother gets in contact with you as long as she does. Anyways since you've made it clear through this email that you have now become aggravated by me contacting you I will make sure that I keep all of our correspondences to show how you midwives/women really act when a death occurs.
Thanks for your time I will stay connected with Shannon from the Accountability department I have made her already aware of you and our conversation
Andrea
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Unfortunately These are the games that I have to deal with while trying to file a death. They hold you up, they act like they don't get the mail and they also don't want to be bothered with your problem.
They pissed of the wrong mom
You are not the only one who has sought accountability from CPMs and gotten this run-around. Have you thought about going to the local newspaper? This might be a good investigative report. People deserve to know the utter and complete lack of accountability and professionalism that was allowed when the state granted midwives permission to practice midwifery. Your story breaks my heart.
ReplyDeleteI figured that I was not the only one. These women are birthing babies and on the flip side loosing babies and not recording them to NARM. Still practicing like nothing happened Sad case and their so nasty when a death has occurred because if you put a little base in your voice they think your being rude. But reality is when a death happens they move like turtles. Thanks for the insight I will definitely look into it. Appreciate your comment and your time for reading
DeleteThat is exactly the type of crap I put up with from utah midwives association (and midwives college of utah) when I tried to put complaints in about Better Birth (the birth center I went to) and its staff. I complained to the college because students were being trained there, but the college was uninterested in doing anything substantial about it. Midwives try to dodge accountability of any sort, its infuriating!
ReplyDeletewow I can only imagine. The college was probably trying to shut you up and hope that it would pass. Of course they know but they don't want other women to know.
DeleteI am so terribly sorry that they are adding to your grief. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteDreah Louis -- I am so sorry about the loss of your beautiful daughter Aminah. I have no wisdom regarding midwives or lawsuits and won't pretend to (though I wish you every success as you work through all this and am so sorry you have to), but just wanted to post to express my sorrow at your loss.
ReplyDeleteI take it that your from the newspaper the tone in the comment is why I said that but anyways thanks for reading my story I appreciate your time.
DeleteHi again -- no, I'm not from a newspaper, I do write for my work (on a college campus, nothing public, nothing related to birth or midwives) so probably sound kind of bland but I don't mean to. I do sincerely mean just that I'm sorry for your loss. Best wishes to you and your family.
DeleteThank you
DeleteSorry for your loss. Send all your complaints via FedEx or Certified Mail from now on. Make copies of all correspondence and contact your local department of health.
ReplyDelete:)
Deletelocal department of health?
ReplyDeleteDepartment of Health may be a good place to go. I bet they'd like to know about the poor medical care that this midwife gave you. If they don't, I bet they may be able to point you in the right direction. But I do think that you are totally right to contact an attorney over this. That midwife should be in jail or at the very least not be allowed within shouting distance of a pregnant woman.
ReplyDeleteI have tried that but most people are so shocked about homebirth that they kind of feel I deserve what I got. I have gotten no where when it comes to contacting people to stand behind me. No one will stand behind me most likely because I am a colored face I was kind of already aware of that when the incident happened to me. She should be in jail but really who cares about a young black woman who had a homebirth that went wrong. I know that I will not get many powerful names to stand behind me but my goal is just to make women more aware of this homebirth arena.
DeleteDreah, have you contacted your local district attorney to see if she can be prosecuted criminally? I am a mother of twins too...and I can't read anything you write without crying. I am so sorry.
ReplyDeleteNo I haven't contacted the DA but I will. Thank you twin momma :)
Delete