Rita Ray, Certified Nurse Midwife

Rita, a native of South Dakota, earned a nursing degree from St. John’s School of Nursing in Huron, South Dakota. After one year of practice as a registered nurse, she moved to Hyden, Kentucky and attended Frontier Nursing School of Midwifery and Family Nursing where she earned certification as a Nurse-Midwife.

Rita is a member of American College of Nurse Midwives.

When asked why she chose Obstetrics and Gynecology as her profession, Rita replies, “I had an aunt who was a supervisor of an obstetric unit in South Dakota. Due to family nepotism, when I turned 16, I started working as a nurse aide in the newborn nursery during summer and school vacations. I have worked with mothers and babies since that time. My aunt said that when a couple has their first child they change from being a couple to being a family.” Rita goes on to comment, “One new mother, upon pushing out her infant, told me, ‘that feels beautiful.’ It was beautiful then and is still a beautiful thing to help families welcome their new infants.”

Rita has provided midwifery care to families in Thomasville, Oklahoma and U.S. Virgin Islands since 1974.

She and her husband, Paul, have one son.

I am accepting new patients.