With 25 years of experience in labor

and delivery, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) nurse-midwifery student Michele Holzman “answers the call” to serve Hispanic women in the Tallahassee, Fla., area every day through the miracle of birth.

Michele, Hispanic herself, has a particular connection to the community that she serves. She has worked for 20 years in labor, delivery, and postpartum care with Hispanic patients, bridging the gap for this community dually through language and through extensive knowledge and care for mother and baby.

Michele embodies Frontier’s emphasis on providing care to underserved and rural populations as she works with migrant mothers and families on a daily basis. Outside of the hospital walls, Michele supplements women’s health by teaching Mighty Moms classes – fitness training classes that combine her experience as a childbirth educator and five years as a personal trainer. She uses the classes to provide mothers with a practical way to improve their overall health and to educate the women to continue the health impact at home.

Stemming from Michele’s passion for women’s health and direct communication as it impacts outcomes throughout the birth process, she has authored two books in Spanish translation covering this area. She not only plans to publish the documents, but also to convert the text into an easy-to-use, highly accessible app.

Her dreams don’t stop there. Michele’s next project is to create a non-interventional birth wing in her hospital, and to provide a mobile antenatal clinic for the patients that live in the outlying counties. Her hope is to shift the medical model of childbirth to a physiologic focus and to better influence evidence-based discussions towards improvement of national statistics in maternal-infant care, all while continuing to service the Hispanic community.

Michele, who initially began her journey at FNU via the ADN Bridge Entry Option, plans to continue on to the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program after completing her MSN.

“This is a humbling and inspirational legacy to be a part of,” Michele says. “This is such a great opportunity, and I am excited to learn everything they have to offer.”

Thank you, Michele, for your continued excellence in serving the Hispanic community.

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.