Anyone familiar with Leavitt Women’s Healthcare can testify that this Idaho Falls-based practice offers a wide variety of services. The clinic's diagnostic and treatment capabilities, overseen by OB-GYN Dr’s Adams, Asay, and Leavitt range from gynecology and obstetrics to pregnancy care, ultrasounds, contraception, Pap smear, cancer screenings, tubal reversals, hormone pellet therapy, infertility and more.
As of late, one key Leavitt staffer – Registered Nurse Kylee Johnson – has expanded the clinic's scope of services even further with midwifery – a specialized health profession that focuses on pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum issues and other aspects of women's reproductive health.
Johnson has been a member of the Leavitt women’s team since 2015. After completing a rigorous dual-degree Masters program through Georgetown University, she can now add on the titles of Women's Health Nurse Practitioner and Certified Nurse Midwife.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about midwives, especially in our area,” Johnson said. “Midwives are really popular over on the East Coast, but not so much over here. A lot of people don't understand the difference of what a nurse midwife does. There's some 'voodoo' around the word itself, I think, but it's not witchcraft, I promise.”
In fact, the biggest difference between Johnson's work and that of the Leavitt women’s doctors is their specialties and focus. “I work more on normal births and pregnancies while they are the masters of all things high-risk,” Johnson said. “I assist in surgery, prescribe medications, delivery babies and do the whole spectrum of women’s health.”
What was the biggest motivator for Johnson's pursuits? “With me, it was about realizing what a difference I could make in women's lives, and childbirth as a part of that is so monumental,” she said. “It's a really intimate profession, because you have to connect with people on a very personal level, and I want to be able to do that.”
Johnson adds that beyond the clinical work itself, “The most import work we do is in education and empowering women to make informed choices about their health. That's what it's all about.”
For more information on Leavitt and their full range of services, visit www.leavittwomenshealthcare.com.