An Advocate For Safe Supportive Birth

Katie Van Heck, CNM has joined the SHGM staff

Gerber Memorial’s new nurse midwife excited to empower women to take charge of their healthcare

 Fremont– Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial’s newest member of the OB/GYN clinic is excited to help women take charge of their healthcare.

 “One of the things I really focus on as a certified nurse midwife is empowering women as they go through their healthcare experiences,” said Katie Van Heck, CNM. “As a nurse midwife, I firmly believe in providing women with information and options so they can be active decision makers and ensure the health care they receive is personalized to their individual needs. Personalizing care is very important because every person has specific needs and goals, and developing personal relationships with patients can help improve outcomes and satisfaction.”

 As a certified nurse midwife, Van Heck will provide the full scope of midwifery care to patients in both the office and hospital setting. She is also a lactation educator and counselor.

 “Working in a smaller hospital is definitely something I’m excited about because Gerber Memorial’s OB/GYN clinic is providing quality care and up-to-date resources that many rural communities across the country often lack,” said Van Heck, who began in December 2019 and is accepting new patients. “Working in a smaller community allows providers to better connect with patients and the families we serve. Everyone knows everybody else and our interactions are more personal, which allows us to provide care on another level.”

Van Heck has experience providing primary care for women along with prenatal and gynecological care; high-risk pregnancy co-management; family planning advice; and education regarding general nutrition and exercise. Van Heck is an advocate for safe, supported, physiologic birth as well as empowering women through education and informed consent. She takes pride in, and has been successful at, minimizing interventions for low-risk women.

 Van Heck has worked in West Michigan as a nurse midwife for four years. She received her Master of Science in Midwifery from the Midwifery Institute of Philadelphia University.

 For further information, referrals or appointments, call 231.924.1212.