New director takes over at hospital's Birth Center

Felicity Williams has stepped into the role of director for The Birth Center at North Valley Hospital.

“I am excited about this leadership opportunity and am thankful for the support I have received from staff, physicians, and administration to be successful in this role,” Williams said in a release. “Working with women and their families has always been a passion, now I look forward to taking on management aspects of working with the Birth Center’s amazing staff as we continue to focus on patient care and experience, postpartum education and resources, and our Baby Friendly practices.”

Williams, who has years of experience in labor and delivery, began in the position earlier this month replacing Cindy Walp.

The Birth Center sees about 550 to 600 births every year.

Williams has been a registered nurse since 2007 completing her education at Mount San Jacinto College in Menifee, California. She worked as a labor and delivery nurse in two hospitals in California including the well-regarded Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, California, prior to coming to North Valley Hospital in 2014.

In 2016, while still working as a charge nurse in the Birth Center Williams earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing.

“Felicity has extensive knowledge and experience regarding women’s health services and labor and delivery with a calm demeanor for patient care and staff interactions,” said Amy Vanterpool, Chief Clinical Officer at North Valley Hospital. “She is a respected leader within our team already, so she transitions to this new role with great staff support.”

“Felicity is a strong leader and also is very invested in our Planetree culture and The Birth Center,” Vanterpool added. “She works to implement evidence-based best practices and develops trainings to provide high-level education opportunities for staff. With her guidance, we’ll see The Birth Center continue as a flagship service of North Valley Hospital,” says Vanterpool.

The Birth Center at North Valley Hospital received a five year Baby Friendly Designation in 2018. The Baby Friendly designation began in 1991 when the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund launched the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, a global program to encourage the broad-scale implementation of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. In 2018 there were roughly 530 Baby Friendly hospitals nationwide.

North Valley Hospital is a nonprofit community Critical Access hospital and affiliate of Kalispell Regional Healthcare. For more information on The Birth Center, visit https://www.krh.org/nvh/services/the-birth-center.