Arizona Takes Steps to Revoke Midwife’s License After Home Birth Tragedy, How to Do?

DEBARYLIFE –  (PHOENIX), Following the death of a Safford mother and child during childbirth, the state intends to revoke the license of an Arizona midwife.

It transpired following their home birth in December when they were under her care.

Arizona’s Family discovered there are other recorded citations dating back years, indicating this is not the first time something has gone wrong with this midwife.

Parker Terry finds those previous infractions upsetting and infuriating. The widower claims that he lost everything as a result of their trust in a person whose license ought to have been terminated years ago.

Simply miss her. “She ought to be here,” Terry sobbed. “She ought to be here with me, raising her children.”

For Terry and his expanding family, the previous Christmas was supposed to be a time of joy, but it was instead marred by sorrow. In December, difficulties during a home birth claimed the lives of him and his newborn baby Mack in a matter of hours. His wife Jordan passed away.

“When I pointed it out to Sarah, she kind of just ignored me and said that she’s okay,” Terry said. “She started losing color in her face.” When she finally passed out, I was obviously freaked out, but Sarah just reassured me that everything would be alright. She’s about to go into shock.

Terry claims that after he finally took her to the hospital in a hurry, Jordan was transported by air to a different facility. However, she passed away, and Mack was stillborn.

He holds Sarah Kankiewicz, a licensed professional midwife, responsible.

Terry claims that his wife begged for assistance in her final coherent words.

Even after expressing her desire to visit the hospital, Sarah would respond, “You can do this.” No, you can handle this. You can do this,” Terry remarked.

According to him, they chose to hire Kankiewicz because of a friend’s recommendation and her assertion that she is an expert in VBAC deliveries. Vaginal birth after cesarean section, or VBAC as it is commonly called, is considered high risk and may, in rare instances, result in uterine rupture, according to medical experts.

Terry claims that when they trusted Kankiewicz, it is what transpired with Jordan.

Terry remarked, “She said everything we wanted to hear.”

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Jordan was a 28-year-old Safford ER nurse.

Her other two children were born in medical facilities. Her son was delivered via VBAC after her daughter had a C-section.

In order to better assist her future patients, Terry says she chose to give birth at home because she had always wanted to become a midwife.

Terry added, “Her passion was babies.” She desired to care for infants. She desired to assist in their birth.

A grievance against Kankiewicz was submitted to the Arizona Department of Health Services following the demise of Jordan and Mack.

According to court documents, she received five penalties for failing to notify emergency medical services right away when Jordan’s lips went white, for not using proper hygiene, and for failing to check vital signs or dilation on a regular basis. According to the report, a midwife should not have conducted a VBAC on Jordan because of his medical history.

Then, a notice of intent to revoke her license was submitted by ADHS. View the full notice at this report’s bottom.

Terry stated, “There was negligence, and two people lost their lives as a result of this negligence.”

The state has already discovered shortcomings in Kankiewicz’s treatment. Four years earlier, when Kankiewicz was Heather Flowers’ midwife, she went through a horrible birth experience herself and filed a complaint.

“I saw that there was a tear present. I didn’t know to what degree, but I went into utter shock, so I got absolutely numb,” Flowers said. “My daughter did not respond either. She had purple hair.

According to an investigation, Kankiewicz neglected to monitor Flowers’ vital signs on a regular basis, performed outside of her scope of practice, and understated the severity of her laceration.

Flowers stated, “You know, we made it through, but my biggest worry was that this would happen to another mother and her child, which is why I reported her to the state.”

Kankiewicz has had a license since 2020, but because she failed to file documentation on time, ADHS has fined her five times. Repeat offenders may face fines of thousands of dollars, although they could be drastically lowered if they pay their fines on time.

Kankiewicz wrote on social media about it, asking “Why do I have a license again?!”

Flowers stated, “Really, nothing was done.” “After a brief reprimand, Jordan and her son Mack have passed away.”

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Following Flowers’ and Terry’s complaints, a second one was made, and in November 2023 the investigation that resulted in more citations was concluded. That was barely one month before to Mack and Jordan’s passing.

ADHS found in the November report that Kankiewicz continued to treat a mother after she was diagnosed with hypertension, which prompted them to file a notice of intent to suspend her license in January.

“We were unaware that the citations existed. We were unaware that there were further deficiency statements. Terry remarked, “We were unaware that there were fines.

Arizona’s Family received confirmation from the state on Thursday that her license is still valid. This implies that she can lawfully carry on with her practice while the inquiry is ongoing.

However, Kankiewicz claims in a recent social media post that she made the decision to revoke her license and end her career.

Where is the duty of care – Where is the penalty in this case?

Terry said.

Terry feels that if the state had given earlier allegations more weight, his wife and son would still be alive. He is now advocating for reform and arguing that midwives require more control and regulation.

“The structure is flawed. He stated, “There are flaws, loopholes, broken things, and murky places.

Although Kankiewicz is the subject of an ongoing investigation, according to Safford police, no formal charges have been brought as of yet.

When Arizona’s Family contacted Kankiewicz, she stated that the ongoing inquiry precluded her from comment.

Thursday afternoon, ADHS released the following statement: “We recognize the delicate nature of the matter. This enforcement action is open and ongoing. We will not be providing any more information at this time.

Classification of Midwives

It’s crucial to remember that Arizona recognizes and permits two different kinds of midwives.

Certified Nurse Midwives are governed by the nursing board. They are referred to as registered nurses who pursue a post-graduate degree in nursing in order to become midwives. The Arizona State Board of Nursing has authority over them.

In addition to the qualifications and standards for nurse-midwifery outlined in the Arizona Nurse Practice Act, they must uphold the standards of RNs.

Like Kankiewicz, there are other non-nurse midwives who are certified nationally and subject to ADHS regulations.

Both types of midwives are eligible to make complaints; those for non-nursing midwives can do so here. Any citation records are also available to the general public.

In summary, a patient or family should look for a Certified Nurse Midwife if they want a midwife with RN training. Nursys.com is a wonderful resource to check their status because it is the sole national database for nurse license and disciplinary actions.

You can also reach the Arizona State Board of Nursing by phone at 602-771-7800 or online at this link.