Kristin Ashford honored as School of Nursing Alumna Fellow

Dr. Kristin Beth Ashford received her MSN from the University of Louisville in 2000. She received her BSN from Washburn University in 1991 and her PhD in nursing from the University of Kentucky in 2007. 

She is an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky where she teaches obstetric nursing and participates in preterm birth research studies. She currently serves as a principal investigator on an NIH COBRE (Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence) study in which she leads a multicenter trial across two states. 

In 2013, Dr. Ashford received a four-year $1.6M+ Start for Mothers and Newborns grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, titled “EMPOWR: Efforts to Maximize Perinatal Outcomes in Women and Risk.” The grant allows Ashford and her colleagues to use to an innovative group prenatal care approach that empowers women to take an active role in their prenatal care. 

Dr. Ashford also serves as administrator of the Kentucky GIFTS (Giving Infants and Families Tobacco-free Starts) program, working jointly with the Kentucky Department of Public Health to provide smoking cessation and wellness services to prenatal and postpartum women across Appalachia. 

Since 2008, Dr. Ashford has had articles published in journals such as the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing; and Nicotine & Tobacco Research: Oxford Journal. She has received numerous professional accolades including the 2014 Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Louisville School Of Nursing. Dr. Ashford is a member of the American Public Health Association, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrical and Neonatal Nurses, the Kentucky Coalition for Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives, the Kentucky Nurses Association, the National Certification Corporation, Sigma Theta Tau International, Delta Psi Chapter, Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS) and the University of Kentucky Hospital APRN. 

Dr. Ashford and her husband, David, reside in Nicholasville, Kentucky and have four children.

The UofL Alumni Association established the Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award and the Alumni Fellows program in 1983. These awards recognize graduates who have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields and are exemplary ambassadors for the university and their college or school. Recipients reflect the high standing and character of their alma mater. They were honored on Thursday, Oct. 16 at the 2014 Alumni Awards.

While in Louisville, Dr. Ashford presented a seminar at the Baxter Auditorium entitled "EMPOWR: Efforts to Maximize Perinatal Outcomes in Women-at-Risk".