For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: March 11, 2022
Crist earning midwifery degree in Ghana
Fennimore -
Donation at Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital by Nsuo Y3 Nkwa Foundation in January 2022. Lakyn Crist is pictured third from the right.
Lakyn Crist, a Darlington, Wisconsin native, is earning her Direct Entry Midwife degree from Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, while living and working part-time in Ghana. She is in the second year of the two-year program and anticipates graduating in December 2022.
Crist graduated from Pecatonica High School in 2006. She subsequently earned her Doctorate of Chiropractic and Bachelor of Science from Palmer Chiropractic College in Davenport, Iowa in 2013. She owned and operated a chiropractic clinic in New Mexico and began her master’s degree in public health education from the University of New Mexico before relocating to Ghana in 2019.
(L-R) DeShaun Desrosiers, Mariza Mozee-Rose, Lakyn Crist and Mauw at Centre for Plant Medicine Research in Mampong, Eastern Region Ghana.
In 2020, Crist along with business owners and colleagues co-founded the Nsuo Y3 Nkwa Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to public health education. Their focus is on women and girls’ health, as well as maternal and infant health, and they frequently work with midwives. Earlier this year they received a grant from an organization in the UK to provide cervical cancer screenings for Ghanaian women.
After earning her midwifery degree, Crist plans to continue her work with the non-profit organization, as well as possibly do some teaching and training. She noted there are significant healthcare needs in Ghana. “The access to equipment and access to trained professionals is not to the same level as it is in the United States,” she said, noting the systems, in some ways are not comparable as they are operated differently. “Health care and hospitals are run on a model that is more similar to European and U.K. models; insurance is much different, and the standard of care is generally lower than hospitals in the U.S.”
Crist noted there is an elevated need for midwives in Ghana. “Most individuals delivering babies in Ghana are midwives,” she said. “There is something to be said for being able to train individuals within a culturally appropriate context.”
Christ has enjoyed her time within the Southwest Tech program. Two other students in the DE midwife program were able to visit Ghana in January and assist Crist with a donation event. “The ability to connect with individuals has been phenomenal,” she said.
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |