Tonia Reid, MD

President

Tonia Reid, MD will serve as Kentucky Perinatal Association President for a term of 2 years (2021-2023). This once High School Science teacher, is now a Board-Certified Neonatologist and Medical Director at Baptist Health Lexington’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  She graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 2005.  She remained at the University of Kentucky to complete her Pediatric Residency and Neonatal Fellowship.  Baptist Health Lexington is her work home since completion of her training.  She became Medical

Director of the NICU in 2014.

Dr. Reid has a passion for improving the quality of care provided to neonates in the State of Kentucky.  It is through that passion she became involved with the Kentucky Perinatal Association.  Over the last several years she partnered with KPA and Maternal Child Health to provide education across the state of Kentucky on non-pharmacologic treatment for Neonatal Opiate Withdrawal.  At Baptist Health Lexington she championed the start of the Parent Empowerment Group to help opiate-addicted women prepare for

labor, delivery, and the transition of care to home.  Ultimately, these efforts resulted in decreasing numbers of infants admitted to the NICU for pharmacologic care for NAS at Baptist Health Lexington.

Dr. Reid is currently focused on utilizing quality data available from hospitals and the state to improve neonatal care.  She is organizing a Neonatal Service Line to coordinate efforts across the Baptist Health System and has joined the Neonatal Workgroup for the KY Perinatal Quality Collaborative.  She is hopeful that her work with the Kentucky Perinatal Association will facilitate communication between academic hospitals, private providers, and the Department of Maternal Child Health.

Laura Senn, MSN, RNC

President-elect

Lauran Senn, MSN, RNC will serve as President-elect until 2023.

Susan deGraaff, CPC-A

Secretary

Susan Caudill deGraaff is a Senior Administrative Research Assistant at UK Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology. She has been employed by the Division for over 25 years, and in that time has seen many positive changes in patient care due to research. She feels incredibly honored and blessed to work with the wonderful staff, doctors, and nurses in the Division and the NICU. Because of personal experiences, Neonatology holds a special place in her heart. A native of Boyd County, Kentucky, she attended Ashland Community College and UK, and is a certified professional coder. She’s been a member of KPA for over twenty years.

Susan’s family is the most important thing in her life. She has two wonderful daughters and two amazing granddaughters, and she spends as much time with them as possible. She is also an avid reader. She lives in Wilmore with her fiancé.

Susan was honored to be awarded the 2021 recipient of the Dr. Tom Pauly Memorial Award.

Virginia Smith-Pratt

Treasurer

Our newly elected KPA treasurer is a graduate of Midway Jr College in 1972 AND received her BSN Nursing degree from the University of Kentucky in 1993. Virginia has an extensive background in Med/Surg and ICU.

From 1988 until retirement her focus was as a nurse in Women’s Services, i.e., Maternal Child Educator; Clinical Coordinator; Post-Partum and Ante-Partum Care - Newborn Care.

Her last 25 years, Virginia served at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital as Staff Nurse/Charge Nurse (Direct Patient Care).

Additionally, she has taught “Nursing Assistant” classes at Wayne Co Area Technology Center.

Virginia has faithfully served as a KPA member and was a loyal member of the Eastern Kentucky Neonatal Nurse Association.

Virginia is a widow and resides in Monticello, Kentucky

Kimberly Armstrong-Scarborough, BSN, RNC

Past President

Healthcare has always held a special place in Kim’s heart.  Starting her career as a Registered Respiratory Therapist, with focused care of heart and lung transplant recipients, she was always drawn to those who were the most at risk and fragile. Perhaps that is one reason her career shifted to caring for the tiniest patients of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit 20 years ago.  The intriguing, challenging environment

of the NICU prompted Kim to return to college to become a Registered Nurse, Certified in Maternal Newborn Nursing so that she could expand her scope of practice.   

After serving as a NICU, Newborn Admissions and Postpartum Nurse, Kim now serves as the Obstetrical Educator at Baptist Health Hardin.  This role not only puts her on the front lines with the bedside nurse, but also a global appreciation for the healthcare system’s Shared Governance model for promoting and implementing evidence based practice where she’s actively involved as the Co-Chair for the

Project Resource and Development Council. 

Outside of her role as an Obstetrics Educator, Kim remains active in maternal-child organizations such as March of Dimes, AWHONN, Maternal Child Health Organization, KyPQC Steering Committee and currently serves as President of the Kentucky Perinatal Association.  Her passion is to always give back to the

community, collaborate with multiple community partners,  and spread education to promote the best and safest care for Kentucky’s mothers and infants. 

Kim lives in Elizabethtown, Kentucky where she resides with her daughter.  She is active in her community volunteering for school events, food banks, March of Dimes BHH Captain, Crusade for Children Fundraising, and church events.  She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, her two labradoodles, photography, and cake decorating. 

“Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living.”

 – Albert Einstein

Gary L. Walls

Executive Director

Gary has been a member of the Kentucky Perinatal Association since its incorporation in 1989, founded by Dr. David H. Adamkin, MD. Soon afterwards, he was designated as the annual convention planner. He then followed charter Treasurer, John Luhrenson in 1996 under the Presidency of Dr. Tom Pauly, until being appointed in 2004 as Executive Director by then President, Dr. John Morrison.

Prior to becoming Executive Director, Gary was with Ross Laboratories until his retirement in 2004. It was there, couple with his tenure serving on the KPA board of directors, did a compassion evolve for the care of high-risk mothers and babies that exists today.

Those who mentored Gary during his formative years included but are not limited to the following: Drs. Billy Andrews, Pat Nichol, Larry Cook, David Adamkin, Roger Shott, Tom Pauly, Henrietta Bada, Greg Culley, Dan Garcia, Steve Church, Gordon Hollins, S.C. Saxena, Stefan Maxwell, Allana Oak and Ruth Ann Shepherd. Just a few of the nurses-dieticians who inspired him early on included: Peggy Kidd-Staley, Sister Marie Weber, Betty Hopkins, Martha Blair, Elaine Perkins, Rosemary Morris, Jody Epperson, Kay

Ragland, Carrie Ross, Janet Lilly, Pauline Hayes, Amy Snell and Vicki Whitehead. Other health care and similar professionals included: Wade Mountz, Darrell Turner, Don Doty, Don Elsass, Dan Raynor, Joe Shay, Marty Headlee, Rick Smith, Glenn Taylor, Bill Bolling and Arch Curran. The reason for these being listed is for the record, they all are legends in the care and nourishing of newborns.

In the early days of his career, iron deficiency anemia was the #1 newborn challenge. Thus, the Women, Infants and Children program was founded. Gary wrote the initial grant proposal for the Maternity and Infants Care Project-in serving the counties of Bell, Harlan, Letcher, Floyd, Breathitt County Health Department and the Infant Care Project, plus providing infants with an iron fortified formula and promoting breast feeding. Gary was recognized by the Kentucky Public Health Association as a result with the KPHA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Other impactful experiences included observing the first treatment of ECMO by Dr. Larry Cook, my first observation of Survanta™ being administered by Dr. Joel Secrest and Synagsis™ being dosed.

While serving as Executive Director, Gary has had the pleasure to work with many KPA boards, as they entrusted his decision making and promotional skills on behalf of the organization. He currently serves the board of directors in planning for the future of KPA. Some of the other meaningful highlights have been a close partnership with the Department of Health-Maternal Child Health Division, earning the coveted National Perinatal Association State Chapter of the Year Award, hosting the National Perinatal

Association annual meeting, organizing 29 state KPA annual meetings and implementing KPA regional conferences and NAS activities.

Regardless of the covid-19 pandemic, Gary looks to the future with innovative programs such as the “Perinatal Webinar Series”, in a joint effort with the Kentucky Department of Public Health-Division of Maternal Child Health Division and the March of Dimes. Become a member of the Kentucky Perinatal Association today!