Passing of Anne Scupholme, CNM

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We are saddened to announce the passing of Anne Scupholme, CNM, Fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM).

The Reverend Anne Scupholme, CNM passed away on Saturday, November 23, 2019. Anne was born on May 3, 1942 in Whitby, England. She was educated at Casterton School and completed her nursing training in London and midwifery training in Manchester. In 1968, she travelled to Jamaica, West Indies and in 1969 arrived in Miami, Florida where she worked as a nurse-midwife until her retirement in 2003, spending over 31 years at the University of Miami / Jackson Memorial Medical Center. She completed an undergraduate degree in religious studies at Florida international University and a graduate degree in public health from the University of Miami. Anne was one of the pioneers for the practice of nurse-midwifery in Florida and an active leader in the independent birth center movement as an alternative to traditional hospital birth settings. She worked tirelessly as ardent advocate for improved health care for women and children and those on the margins of society. Anne was inducted as a member into the Hall of Fame of the University of Miami School of Medicine / Jackson Women’s Hospital center in 2007 in recognition for exemplary contributions in the field of women’s health. In 1998, Anne was ordained as a deacon in Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Miami where she served on staff for 5 years. In 2003, Anne relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia, where she continued to work as a licensed deacon serving in several Episcopal parishes, and was an active member of the diocesan committee that initiated the first training program for deacons in the Diocese of Virginia. She continued to serve and advocate for justice for disadvantaged people in rural Albemarle until her death.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank may be made in her memory. Anne is survived by her sister, Margaret Beaujeux and her husband, Paul. Another sister, Barbara Huckell, preceded Anne in death. A Memorial Eucharist will be held at Buck Mountain Episcopal Church, Earlysville, Va. in January 2020. Later, her ashes will be scattered in the churchyard of Christ Church, Ugthorpe, England, the church in which she was baptized.

2 COMMENTS

  1. I talked with ANN a couple of months ago and she gave no indication of being ill or dying. How did she die? Was anyone with her besides her dog? I wish I had known about the service earlier.

    Much more could be said about ANN. I will never forget her arrival at Booth for the refresher program. It was a Sunday and I was afraid no one would be at stone mansion on the Booth property the provided the classroom and housing for the newly funded refresher program. When I heard her car arrival I went to the front to welcome her. She was standing, leaning on her car, and when I said “Welcome to Booth,” with arms folded, she replied, “Not so fast. I haven’t decided yet whether or not I will stay.” I learned that was ANN and the unspoken message was “Never take me for granted.”

    I could write pages about this remarkable woman and midwife. After she left Booth for her long put-off calling to the ministry, John Franklin commented on her contributions to the development of the Booth services. “I’m not sure we would have survived without Ann,” he said. “Even as a refresher student , she brought her know-how and experience of running one of the largest and most difficult services in the country and showed us how to do it regardless of size. She taught me more about organizing and running the Booth medical services than I could ever have hoped for. She contributed the needed management of operations that made it work, at least for me.”

    Ann was a warrior for midwifery care. She was strong and at times I think people thought she was a bit tough. But I knew her well. Throughout her life her work she was fueled from the energy of love for the work she was called to do – even when it appeared to be an impossible undertaking. For example, after her refresher and certification, with obstetrician Alan McCloud she developed a midwifery service Jackson Memorial Women’s Hospital in Miami where the midwifery students from the university were precepted by her staff. When the crisis in access to obstetrical services in Miami hospitals put an extra burden on the Jackson Memorial service she seized the opportunity to establish a midwifery service across the street from the medical center and randomly assigned women to that service so she could conduct the needed research to demonstrate that the good outcomes from midwifery care was not just because they were all low risk childbearing women. I remember one night when I visited her in her birth center, I found her sitting at her desk with a foot high piles of charts “cleaning” the study data. It is still the only randomized control trial in over four decades of birth center reporting.

    Ann was always fueled by love of her work and the women she served. She will be dearly missed.