Letter From the President

Welcome to the unveiling of the South Carolina Perinatal Association Website! This is indeed an exciting time in the life of the organization as we move forward into the 21st  Century. This would not be possible without the talents of Mary Ernst, who is the Obstetrical Outreach Educator for the Lowcountry Perinatal Region and a long time member of SCPA. Mary volunteered her expertise and talents and has done an excellent job in producing an attractive, informative website. Look for news about perinatal clinical, policy and legislative issues, links to other perinatal organizations, a membership application, the quarterly newsletter, and a calendar of events. Kudos to Mary! 

I am Jeannie Thompson, the President of SCPA for 2003-2004. Although I am your new President, I am not new to SCPA and the South Carolina perinatal system. I have been an active member of SCPA since 1989 serving in various roles: Editor of the Newsletter, The Pee Dee Region representative to the Board, a member of the Public Affairs Committee and a member of the Annual Conference Planning Committee.

I am the Regional Systems Developer for the Pee Dee Perinatal Region and work out of McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence. I am a Registered Nurse with a background in obstetrical nursing. Although I no longer do staff nursing, my love for the maternal child health arena continues. 

My vision for the next two years is that SCPA will continue its long history of promoting perinatal education, influencing public policy and providing leadership on issues of perinatal health in South Carolina. Initiatives you will be hearing more about include: legislation to establish the South Carolina Birth Defects Program and the partnership with the March of Dimes and SC DHEC for the five year premature birth campaign. I encourage everyone to attend the South Carolina Summit on Premature Birth on June 17 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Columbia and the 10th Annual Perinatal Partnership Conference on September 21-23 at the Sheraton Hotel at Four Seasons in Greensboro, North Carolina.

On behalf of SCPA, I would like to thank Dr. Jim Scardo for his leadership of the organization over the past two years. It will be a challenge to follow in his footsteps.

I would also like to thank the Regional Maternal Fetal Medicine Department at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. and McLeod Regional Medical Center for the generous sponsorship of several editions of our newsletter. Please notice their advertisements on the back page. The newsletter is an important way of keeping our membership informed about perinatal issues in the state. If anyone is interested in sponsoring and advertising in an edition of the newsletter, please call me at 843-777-5060.

One of my goals for the next two years is to increase the membership in SCPA. I would like to challenge each current member to recruit one new member within the next year. We would double our membership and have the potential to become a more active, vital organization.

It is my hope that with a strong Board and membership, SCPA will continue to be an organization that makes a difference in the lives of mothers and babies in the state of South Carolina. 

Sincerely,

Jeannie Thompson