MASSENA -- Nurse midwife Barbara Hillis of Massena Memorial Hospital’s North Country Women’s Health Center, is now accepting patients.

Hillis provides care to women from their first menstrual cycle to menopause. She welcomes women to come in for birth control, family planning, pap smears, mammograms, reproductive health consultation issues, annual exams and provides care for expectant mothers. She has delivered more than 450 babies throughout her career.

Midwives delivered all four of Hillis’ daughters. After experiencing such great care, she wanted to provide the same services to women. As her children grew up, she embarked on her goal of becoming a midwife.

“I get a lot of joy in providing healthcare to women. It is an honor for me to help other women with their reproductive needs and understand the changes their bodies are undergoing at every stage of their lives,” Hillis said. “The best part of my job is seeing the joy on a mom and dad’s face as they cuddle their newborn.”

Hillis earned her nursing degree from Montgomery Community College in the Washington D.C. area. Hillis worked as a registered nurse for five years while she furthered her studies to become a certified nurse midwife. During her nursing career she worked in a hospital’s labor and delivery unit assisting with births and caring for newborns.

She earned her midwife degree from Frontier Nursing University in Kentucky. Hillis began caring for women as an employee at MMH in 2014, after working with obstetrician Dr. Tae-Sik Choi for several years in Massena before he retired.

For more information or an appointment with Hillis, call North Country Women’s Health Center at 315-769-4638.