Wallace Named Director of Center for Labor and Birth
After a professional journey in nursing that led her halfway across the world, Barbara Wallace, MSN, MPH, EdD, RNC, has returned to BWH as nursing director for the Center for Labor and Birth.
Wallace, who began her career at the Boston Lying-In and founded the Adolescent Reproductive Health Service there, said she feels as though she’s come home. “The staff in the Center for Labor and Birth are a wonderful, caring group of professionals who really go the extra mile to deliver the best possible care, value evidence-based practice and recognize the importance of asking questions that drive research and help us to constantly improve our care and practice models,” she said.
As Boston’s busiest birthing center, the Center for Labor and Birth includes about 150 nurses, patient care assistants, surgical technicians, unit coordinators, environmental services staff and unit assistants, all of whom provide care and support services to some of the most high-risk and critically ill obstetrical patients in the country.
“Since Barbara joined the Center for Labor and Birth, the entire team has been most impressed with her deep commitment and dedication to our patients and families, as well as the staff,” said Angelleen Peters-Lewis, PhD, RN, executive director for Women and Newborn Nursing. “As director, Barbara will continue to help us advance nursing practice, create care delivery models that meet the needs of a population that is increasing in acuity and complexity and motivate and inspire our team.”
Wallace most recently served as the associate chief nursing officer for Clinical Education and Research at Hallmark Health System. Throughout her career, she has traveled extensively, spending time in Armenia to help get new hospitals up and running, and working with the Harvard School of Public Health. She also has a passion for communication about health care and produced news stories with Dr. Tim Johnson on ABC. She earned an Emmy Award for a film she co-produced about children bearing children. Wallace has published extensively and presented more than 1,500 presentations and keynotes nationally and internationally. She received her BSN from Boston College, her master’s of science from Boston College in collaboration with Harvard Medical School, and an MPH and doctorate from Harvard University.