HATTIE HEMSCHEMEYER AWARD RECIPIENTS

In 1977, the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) established the Hattie Hemschemeyer Awardto acknowledge those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to midwifery and women’shealth care. Since then, 25 certified nurse-midwives have received this highest honor to be bestowed by theACNM. A complete roster of Hattie Hemschemeyer Award recipients follows:

Rose McNaught 1977Ernestine Wiedenbach 1979Agnes Reinders 1980Sandra J. Dietrich 1981Helen Varney Burst 1982Ruth Watson Lubic 1983Carmelo Cavero 1984Lucille Woodville 1985Dorothea Lang 1986Joyce E. Thompson 1987Eunice K.M. Ernst 1988Bonnie Pedersen 1989Sr. Angela Murdaugh 1990Marian Strachan 1991Armentia T. Jarrett 1992M. Elizabeth Hosford 1993Sr. Catherine R. Shean & Mary Shean 1994Lisa Paine 1995Joyce Cameron Foster 1996Mary Ann Shah 1997Judith Pence Rooks 1998Elizabeth S. Sharp 1999Judith T. Fullerton 2000

Betty Watts CarringtonHattie Hemschemeyer Award Recipient—2001

Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health • Vol. 46, No. 5, September/October, 2001 327

© 2001 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives 1526-9523/01/$20.00• PII S1526-9523(01)00157-XIssued by Elsevier Science Inc.

BETTY WATTS CARRINGTON, CNM, EdD, FACNMRECIPIENT

of theHATTIE HEMSCHEMEYER AWARD FOR 2001

On June 2, 2001, at the 46th Annual Meeting of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), Betty Watts Carringtonreceived the prestigious Hattie Hemschemeyer Award, the highest honor bestowed by the ACNM, in recognition of her manyaccomplishments and three decades of service.

Dr. Carrington received a BSN, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Michigan School of Nursing in 1958. In 1971, sheearned a master of science degree in maternity nursing and nurse-midwifery from Columbia University, School of Nursing in NewYork. She completed the doctorate in educational administration at Teachers College, Columbia University in 1986.

Dr. Carrington’s career has included many contributions to midwifery and maternal child health in practice, education, andresearch in addition to 30 years of continuous service to the ACNM. Prior to becoming a nurse-midwife, she worked as a publichealth nurse in New York City. Following her graduation from Columbia University, she worked as a staff nurse-midwife at theMaternity-Infant Care Project for 1 year before becoming the director of that practice for the next 7 years. Later in her career, sheworked on a mobile health van in NYC helping to deliver health care to hard-to-reach individuals. Former students and colleaguesdescribe her as a role model, mentor, and a clinician they hope to emulate.

In 1979, Dr. Carrington joined the faculty of the State University of New York, Brooklyn and was acting education director from1984–1986. She then joined the faculty at Columbia University, School of Nursing as the nurse-midwifery program director from1986–1991. During her years at Columbia, she successfully secured federal funding to expand the nurse-midwifery program andled the program through a successful accreditation process. While participating in both midwifery clinical practice and education,she demonstrated excellence in research and scholarly activities. She has given numerous presentations and has authoredpublications on issues such as graduate midwifery preparation, substance use in pregnancy, AIDS in the African Americancommunity, childbirth education for adolescents and substance-using women, estimating fetal weight during labor, and collectivebargaining. She has also been sought out as a consultant by many nurse-midwifery programs in their efforts to address minorityrecruitment and retention.

Dr. Carrington has a long history of service to the ACNM. She became active soon after graduating as a new CNM by servingon the U.S. hostess committee for the 16th Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) held in Washington,DC in October 1972. Soon thereafter, she served as ACNM Vice President from 1973–1974 and the first Region II Representativefrom 1974–1976. She was an ACNM representative to the Interprofessional Affairs Committee and made significant contributionsto the development of the document “Family-Centered Maternity/Newborn Care in Hospitals,” a publication jointly developed byACNM, ACOG, ANA, AAP and NAACOG (now AWHONN) and distributed to the members of each organization. In 1979, Dr.Carrington represented ACNM in UNICEF International Year of the Child activities, and from 1985–1993 she was the ACNMrepresentative of the ICM to the United Nations.

Dr. Carrington was elected to ACNM Fellowship in 1994, its inaugural year. A founding member of the Ad Hoc Committee ofMinority Affairs, now the Midwives of Color Committee (a standing ACNM committee), she continues as a member of thisimportant committee. She is among a very select few to have served on each of three ACNM Divisions: the Division of Research,Division of Publications, and the Division of Accreditation. As a member of the Division of Accreditation (DOA), she has beena site visitor (1983–1991 and 1996–1999), a member and then Chair of the Board of Review (1992–1995), and she is currentlyChair of the DOA.

Winners of the Hattie Hemschemeyer Award must have “continuous outstanding contributions” to midwifery or MCH or“contributions of historical significance.” It is clear that Dr. Carrington has done both. Colleagues who nominated her emphasizedher “quiet and unassuming demeanor, her grace, and her dignity,” and described her as “one of ACNMs most visionary andrespected leaders.” She is certainly “one of the pioneers of modern nurse-midwifery in the U.S.” and it is fitting that Dr. Betty WattsCarrington is honored as the 2001 Hattie Hemschemeyer Awardee.

328 Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health • Vol. 46, No. 5, September/October, 2001