The following remembrance is adapted from Susan Hanafin’s obituary. View the full obituary here.
Susan Hanafin, a long-time resident of Denver, Colorado, passed away in January 2019 after a long battle with chronic depression. Throughout a 34-year career, Susan was a deeply dedicated midwife, clinician, preceptor, and mentor whose skill and compassion led many of her colleagues to turn to her for their own care and deliveries. She made innumerable contributions to the field of public health nursing. Additionally, as a founding midwife of the Denver Health Medical Center Intrapartum Midwifery Service, she was instrumental in initiating and maintaining the safety net teaching hospital’s innovative, collaborative model of care.
Susan dedicated herself to the care of underserved and vulnerable groups, including teens, incarcerated, Hispanic and Native American populations. This included serving a primarily Spanish-speaking population in the the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and two native tribal hospitals in Arizona. Throughout her career, she was known for her commitment to serving women and families regardless of their circumstances to help them to build a healthy future.
