Whirlwind of Activities- when it rains, it pours

The past two weeks have been filled with activity.  I decided not to go to Boston for clinicals and instead accepted an adjunct teaching position in the Fall.  I did so becuase things are moving faster than I thought they might, and I don't think I can leave my projects for an entire month.  The provisional board of Uzazi Village is making arrangements for a permanent board to be in place by October.  We are furiusly writing a business plan in hopes of a small nonprofit start up loan.  The biggest news is that we found a wonderful location for Uzazi Village and are waiting to hear if our lease application has been accepted.  If so, we will spend the month of July preparing our space and moving in, and will start operations the first of August.  I won't write about the space until I know we have it. 

There is so much going on all at once.  Antepartum (prenatal) clinicals this summer are a whirlwind and I am learning so much.  I am seeing between 4- 12 patients a day in the clinics I attend.  It has been a fantastic learning experience.  This Fall I look forward to catching my first baby (first of many, I hope.) 

Uzazi Village is now calling for applicants interested in free training to become Sister Doulas.  These peridoulas will be trained and certified in doula services, childbirth education, breastfeeding peer counseling, and contraceptive counseling.   We decided to move ahead with the Peridoula Demonstration Project without any grant funding.  This is a complete act of faith.  The training will take place the month of August, and the selection process begins now.  We are hoping to train 5-10 Sister Doulas to have in place ready to go, should our proposal be accepted by a local Medicaid HMO.  The Sister Doulas will be paired with Medicaid moms for the purpose of decreasing health disparities through prevention of preterm birth and the promotion of breastfeeding and baby spacing.

My other big project is the CIMS conference for 2013.  It is a go and it will be held here in Kansas City.  That means I am also simultaneously trying to raise funds for conference expenses an to pay for the big name speakers we are trying to get here in KC.  I know this will be a fantastic event and I look forward to seeing many of my readers there.