The Department of Midwifery at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), in collaboration with the London Health Sciences Foundation (LHSF) and Children’s Health Foundation (CHF) are proud to announce the recipient of the Limited Term Chair in Midwifery. This Limited Term Chair is part of LHSC’s Academic Realignment Initiative Awards which aim to inspire research, quality improvement projects and other forms of innovation to make a difference in the lives of patients and their families.
Through the Limited Term Chair program, Dr. Beth Murray-Davis, established career researcher, Registered Midwife and Scientific Director of the McMaster Midwifery Research Centre, will lead and mentor a team of scholars in the Department of Midwifery at LHSC, including Meagan Furnivall (Research Lead), Lauren Columbus (Academic Lead), and Katelyn Fisher (Department Executive). The program of research will explore the contribution of midwives to optimizing health outcomes during “the first one-thousand days” (from conception to two years of life), a critical period for newborns and their families. Research projects will include an exploration of health outcomes, patient experiences, system efficiencies and collaborative models of care, including skin-to-skin contact in the operating room for infants born by caesarean section, and an evaluation of the TIME Program, an innovative clinical partnership between Maternal-Fetal Medicine & Midwifery. Given the current climate of a healthcare system in crisis, and the growing demand for integrated models of care, this research aims to assess and understand current gaps and opportunities where midwives, an underused resource in health care, could be further integrated into the healthcare system.
The expertise and experience of Dr. Beth Murray-Davis combined with the passion and dedication of local LHSC midwives will ensure that the financial support of the Limited Term Chair will establish research infrastructure and enable future high-quality, midwifery-led research in London for years to come.
For more information about the Limited Term Research Chair: https://www.lhsc.on.ca/news/growing-the-future-of-midwifery-research-through-limited-term-chair-appointment
For more information about the program of research within the Department of Midwifery:
LHSC Limited Term Chair in Midwifery Research Team
Beth Murray-Davis
RM, PhD
Julia Simioni
Research Coordinator
Lauren Columbus
RM
Meagan Furnivall
RM
