Greater Houston Midwives’ Alliance

Meeting Minutes

May 12, 2016

  1. Call to order

Ashley Musilcalled to order the Annual Membership meeting of the Greater Houston Midwives’ Alliance at 12:10 pm on May 12, 2016, at West Houston Birth Center, 11321 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77082.

  1. Sign-In Sheet

Ashley Musil circulated the GHMA sign-in sheet. The following persons were present:

Ashley Musil

Afua Hassan

Shannon Stellhorn

Carol Schumacher

Sherry Rumsey

Darlene Scrivner

Melissa Bates

Jackie Griggs

Stephanie Palacio

Students:

Chelsea Campbell

Emily Reynolds

Tonya Rose

Donna Brown

Tara ONeill

Malea Hardeman

Heather Barrett

  1. Approval of minutes from last meeting

Ashley Musil read the April meeting minutes aloud. Afua motioned to approve the minutes. Carol seconded the motion with unanimous approval by members.

  1. Business Meeting : 12:10 pm to 2:00pm
  1. TDLR Update:Sherry Rumsey requested information that was shared at the ATM conference last week from TDLR. Jackie spoke about the session and her previous experience with complaints filed. She is impressed with TDLR and looks forward to the move. The official move will be in October 2016.
  2. Melissa Bates explained to the members how to review membership online. All members must renew by May 31 to keep their account and listing.
  3. Financial Report: Melissa Bates passed out a few copies of the 2015/2016 financial report. Our total income this year was $2530. The total expenses were $1297.23. Income from t-shirt sales $355, from membership dues $2175. Expenses were: $650 for the Birth Fair, $480.55 for the website, and $166.68 for incidentals. Melissa passed out copies of the 2016/2017 proposed budget, which contained two options. The first option is based on this year’s expenses. The second option contains an additional $1200 for Google AdWords. She stated we have enough in savings to cover the proposed advertising addition. The proposed budget is based on 22 paying members.
  4. Review of Current Bylaws:
  1. The current Bylaws, updated in 2013, were read aloud together.
  2. Members present requested several grammatical changes and changes made to sections which were no longer applicable, such as replacing the term “list serv” with “website forum.” Ashley Musil will make the proposed changes to the Bylaws and post them to the website forum for 30 days for the members to review and make comments.
  3. The members discussed the creation of a “policies” document which would cover peer review policies, CEU cost to non-members, meeting attendance limits for non-members, and proration of membership fees for new members.
  1. Voting for Members
  1. Eight voting members were present, which meets the one-fourth criteria for voting. Positions open for voting this year are Vice-President and Treasurer.
  2. Camellia May agreed to remain Vice-President. There were no other nominations. Members present voted unanimously for Camellia to remain as Vice-President.
  3. Melissa Bates agreed to remain Treasurer. There were no other nominations. Members present voted unanimously for Melissa to remain as Treasurer.
  1. Afua Hassan announced that an article ran in the Houston Chronicle on Mother’s Day. It was the story of one of her clients. Area midwives are being portrayed very positively in the media lately. Cathy Rude was also interviewed by several media outlets after she rode an inflatable swan to get to a birth during the flooding last month.
  2. Chelsea Campbell asked about the NARM Bridge Certificate. Carol Schumacher and Ashley Musil explained what they know of the certificate and its purpose.
  3. The 2016 calendar was reviewed with the group. August is still open for education topic. Jackie Griggs suggested the topic “becoming Medicaid providers.” She volunteered to teach. She also shared outcomes of Strong Start Program comparing birth centers to hospitals. Chelsea Campbell will be teaching in October on ultrasound safety.
  4. Carol Schumacher mentioned that GHMA can write grants. No further discussion was made on this topic due to time constraints.
  1. Next Meeting is June 9, 2016: Educational topic: Placental Encapsulation and Research by Nicole Deelah.

Meeting minutes submitted by Ashley Musil, Secretary