Re: Relocation of the PeaceHeatlh Nurse Midwifery Birth Center to RiverBend as planned in 2009

We, the undersigned Birth Center families, friends and supporters, wish to express our commitment to continued access to the PeaceHealth Nurse Midwifery Birth Center. Plans are behind schedule for the anticipated spring 2009 relocation and we request the Board's leadership in putting the Birth Center's future back on track.

Home to the only certified and Master's prepared midwifery group in Lane County, the Birth Center is also Oregon's only midwifery practice to earn the "Baby Friendly" designation from UNICEF and the World Health Organization in recognition of its superior breastfeeding support. The Birth Center's twenty-plus years of excellent outcomes reflect the outstanding mother-baby care practices currently recommended in the national healthcare discussion.

Approximately 20% of Oregon births are attended by certified nurse-midwives versus 11% in the rest of the country. Women select the Birth Center for its low-tech, high-touch prenatal, birthing, and postnatal care including a weekly drop-in well-baby clinic. Providing new mothers with support and resources, the Birth Center promotes personal and community health. Embodying PeaceHealth's mission to treat all people with compassion, the Birth Center offers care to expecting mothers regardless of ability to pay.

The Birth Center's close proximity to Sacred Heart Hospital in downtown Eugene established a comfort level that has been the standard of care in our community for decades of healthy, happy families. It is imperative that PeaceHealth maintain this standard by completing the planned RiverBend Birth Center in 2009.