POSITIONS OPEN: CNMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS!

Volunteer to serve on the board for the California Nurse-Midwives Association!

President-Elect (serve as President Elect from 10/2019 to 10/2020, then assume the role of President for 10/2020-10/2022):

Has a year to transition to the position of President. During that year (from Oct 1 to Oct 1) duties include:

1. Attend monthly BOD calls and calls with other stakeholder groups.

3. 2 in-person meetings annually that alternate between Northern and Southern CA (APRN coalition).

4. Health Policy Committee calls and meetings with Political Strategist, Legal Counsel, or others prn.

Responsibilities when you become President in year two:

1. See above.

2. Lead all BOD Calls.

3. Prepare the agenda, get approval for the agenda, approve the minutes along w/the secretary, make corrections, sign the minutes. Agenda should be out 10 days before the BOD calls.

4. Establish a quorum on the calls.

5. Lead the CNM Annual Meeting. Present the awards, introduce speakers if needed, recognize off going BOD members and welcome incoming BOD members.

6. Be the face of CNMA. Be prepared to give interviews, help draft legislation and correspondence prn, review HPC information.

7. Be involved in publication of the monthly the CNMA newsletter.

8. Attend the ACNM Annual Meeting and represent the state affiliate during the Regional Meeting.

9. Be in touch with the ACNM National Office whenever necessary.

Secretary (10/2019-10/21):

1. Send out the agenda to all the BOD members 10 days before the BOD Meeting.

2. Take minutes during the BOD meeting.

3. Send minutes to the president and other BOD members for corrections.

4. Get signature on minutes once the corrections have been made.

5. Send out final minutes to BOD members.

6. Store minutes on Drop Box and keep Dropbox files organized.

7. Secretary is a BOD voting member.

8. Term 2 years, staggered with Treasurer.

Regional Representatives (one each NorCal, SoCal, Central (10/2019-10/2021):

1. Establish two-way communication with regional chapter chairs and members to update them on affiliate issues, as well as bring issues, comments, needs and requests from regional members to the BOD.

2. Be involved in organizing in-district visits when it comes to grassroots advocacy/legislation.

2. Take initiative regarding events in their region and develop relationships with members of the region.

3. Attend local own chapter meetings.

4. Call into BOD meeting once a month x 1.25-1.5 hours.

7. Voting member.

8. 2 year term.

Student Rep (10/2019-10/2020):

1. Be the contact person for SNM’s in the state-for both in state and out of state learners.

2. Be aware of scholarship programs as available. Be able to direct SNM’s to application process.

3. Attempt to attend the CNMA Annual Meeting as the SNM Rep for the affiliate.

4. Give the SNM Annual Report at the meeting.

5. One of the biggest challenges is finding learning sites for distance learners. Not sure the SNM Rep can really solve this problem, but the student tab on the website may be useful to post info.

6. Manage the mentor/mentee program.

7. SNM Rep is not a voting member but is an active participant in the BOD meetings and will provide a monthly student report to the BOD.

SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM 10/2019-10/2021 (2 years, non-voting position)

1. Maintains the website (cnma.org)

2. Publishes Social Media posts to CNMA's social accounts as needed

3. Facilitates the monthly newsletter release, including publishing and archiving on cnma.org

4. Maintains the store and manages the inventory at CNMA.org/store

5. Coordinates the public relations committee project for CNMA

6. Maintains the Meet the Midwives Project (cnma.org/mtm)

CNMA Lobby Day 2019!

Today, May 7th, 2019, CNMA took about 50 of our members, students, and colleagues to Sacramento to lobby for improvements in our maternal-child health, reproductive justice, and anti-racism legislation. We came to show support to a few important bills that are paving the way for a better California for patients and providers. SB 464 is a bill that would require all healthcare providers involved in perinatal services at hospitals and alternative birth centers to undergo evidence-based implicit bias training. Additionally, we are following along with the progress of a Nurse Practitioner bill (that is after our own hearts!) to remove physician supervision in California. With an upcoming bill in our own futures, it is more important than ever to be present in Sacramento. Today and this year, we are aiming to increase awareness of CNMA, of what the certified nurse-midwife is, and to help the community understand the benefits of increasing access to midwifery care for families in California.

Every day is lobby day on social media! Help do your part by sharing our posts to your social media feeds. Help get the word out about midwives, about CNMA, and about what we are doing for Californians!

17th Annual Lobby Day Information

Hello Lobby Day Colleagues! 

The 17th Annual CNMA Lobby Day is just around the corner! We are looking forward to a fun and successful day. 

DETAILS FOR THE DAY!

Date: Tuesday May 7th  Time: Please arrive by 830am to begin registration. We will start promptly at 9am. With the exception of a couple people, most legislative visits will be finished by a little after 3pm, and those who are able can then head over to the Grange Restaurant and Bar at the Citizen Hotel(a 5 minute walk from the Capitol) for a no-host Happy Hour whenever finished.

Where: Capitol Event Center 1020 11 St., Sacramento 95814

Parking: there are many public garages in the area. The closest garage is Capitol Garage on 10th and L. See attached PDF which shows the event center relative to parking, the Capitol, and the Citizen Hotel.

Content: From 9am-12pm, we will discuss our strategy for 2020 and 2021 re: removal of supervision, will get to know the bill we are co-sponsoring this session (and will have a presentation by Nourbese Flint, the policy director at Black Women for Wellness and one of our fellow co-sponsors for SB 464), learn how to lobby, and then break for lunch.

Lunch: will be a catered box lunch. If the it's a nice sunny day, feel free to take your lunch to the beautiful Capitol lawn. 

Legislator visits: with the exception of one noon visit, the majority of legislator visits occur between 1p-430p

Info Packets: We will provide you with a packet of information the day of, including everything you need to give to your legislators

Focus of lobbying efforts: 

The focus of our lobbying efforts for the day is the bill CNMA is co-sponsoring, which is SB 464, the California Maternal Dignity in Pregnancy Act. Please see attached fact sheet and, if interested the actual bill can be read here. Additionally, we cannot forget to use this opportunity to explain that regulatory barriers to nurse-midwifery, such as physician supervision, significantly impact access to nurse-midwives and growth of our profession. Linking this back to SB 464 and maternal mortality for women of color, the overwhelming evidence supports investing in and expanding midwifery as one tool to reduce the disparities gap. 

Please prepare ahead of time with the following: 

Please watch this lobbying "how to" video from ACOG. It's worth your time. Bottom line: be punctual,  be prepared, be professional and polite, announce the name of your organization, use short personal stories and experiences, don't get off message, and leave information behind/offer to be a resource.  I would also add: keep it short and keep it simple, you only have about 10 minutes. 

Read the attached information on SB 464 Know who your Senator and Assembly Member are in terms of party affiliation and personal histories. A google search of their member page will reveal their interests and previous pertinent legislative wins. Know whether they are on the Business and Professions Committee or Health Committee for the Assembly or Senate. These are key committees that will always hear nurse-midwifery related bills. Finally, think about a key argument in favor of expanding nurse-midwifery based on whether you visit a Democrat or Republican. Republicans are typically interested in fiscal effects and health care costs, deregulation, and competition. Democrats typically want to hear about impact on issues of justice, provider choice, and health care access and outcomes.  If interested, read the background paper from last year's bill, AB 2682, (attached) to jog your memory on supervision removal, health disparities, and work force issues. Please remember this is old information, with an old bill number from last year, so don't distribute to your legislators.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email/call/text me. 

I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday! 

Holly Smith

advocacy@cnma.org