Beeman, Ruth Coates (1925–)

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Beeman, Ruth Coates (1925–)

American nurse-midwife. Born Jan 10, 1925, in Harriston, Virginia.

Served as nurse-midwife for Maternity Center Association (MCA) home birth service in NY (1950–52); was key participant in formation of American College of Nurse-Midwifery and instrumental in development of early accreditation standards for nurse-midwifery programs; trained midwives in West Africa (mid-1950s); became professor and chair of department of nursing and nurse-midwifery at Graduate School of Nursing of New York Medical College (1962); served as family-planning nurse consultant for NY Bureau of Family Planning (1970–76); served as director of Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing in Kentucky (1983–88); led formation of Community-Based Nurse-Midwifery Education Program (CNEP).