To: Eduardo J. Padron Miami Dade College President and the MDC Board of Trustees
We the undersigned ask that Miami Dade Colleges Midwifery Program be re-opened.
The Midwifery Program at Miami Dade College provides one of the only affordable opportunities, in this country, for women to become Licensed Midwives through an accredited program. Since its inception in 1994, over 80 midwives have graduated from the program and gone on to be indispensable assets to their communities. Midwives provide essential quality and personalized care, often in under-served populations. According to the Florida Council of Licensed Midwives, Florida Licensed Midwives had a cesarean section rate of only 6.3% . In 2006 the state of Florida reported an all time high cesarean section rate of 36.6% which is well above the World Health Organization and Healthy People 2010s recommendations of 15%. Additionally, there is expected to be a significant shortage of Obstetricians in the south Florida area within the next three years. As a public institution Miami Dade College has an obligation to the public it serves, and to the students enrolled in the Midwifery Program, to re-open the program and insure that it continues to thrive.
Please re-open the Midwifery Program at Miami Dade College, in order that the enrolled students are able to begin classes in the fall of 2008.