WVNA Legislative Updates

Donte Newsom, DNP, FNP-BC, is a family nurse practitioner working in interventional radiology at Allegany Imaging, PC, and UPMC Western Maryland. He is also an adjunct instructor for the family nurse practitioner program at Simmons University. Dr. Newsom earned a BSN, MSN, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice all from West Virginia University. A leader in human and civil rights in West Virginia, Dr. Newsom pursued his Doctor of Nursing Practice with the goal of opening pathways to improve nursing and health care practice. Newsom aspires to influence practice change and shape how care is delivered in the future. Donte currently serves as a board member with Fairness West Virginia, the statewide human/civil rights organization devoted to equal rights for all LGBTQ+ West Virginians. He also serves as a medical officer for Mountaineer Boys State, a board member for The Connecting Link, and on the WVNA Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEI). Donte is a Fairmont, West Virginia, native and spent most of his life in north central WV. He currently lives in Mineral County.

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Lya M. Cartwright-Stroupe, DNP, APRN, CPNP-BC, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, JJNIF, is currently the System Director of Nursing Practice and Education for WVU Medicine. Lya has led organizational initiatives that include a clinical program for professional excellence for direct care nurses, implementation of care plans, patient education, as well as initiatives for the nursing workforce. Dr. Stroupe recently completed a Johnson & Johnson Nursing Innovation Fellowship. She currently serves as Chair on the Commission for Accreditation for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Lya has experience as a Pediatric Intensive Care Nurse and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner before stepping into leadership roles. Lya is the Immediate past president of WVONL and serves on faculty in the West Virginia University Schools of Nursing and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program. Dr. Stroupe holds a BSN degree from West Virginia University and MSN and DNP degrees from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. In addition to nursing degrees, Lya holds a doctoral degree in Piano Performance Literature and continues to collaborate with musicians throughout the state and region.

Brenda is a retired West Virginia School Nurse. Prior to her retirement in 2020, Brenda was a Kanawha County Certified School Nurse for 10 years and the Lead School Nurse for Kanawha County Schools for 27 years. She has been a member of WVASN and NASN since 1991 and has served in several leadership positions within those Associations, including WVASN President and NASN Director from West Virginia. She was Chairperson of NASN’s Government Relations Committee from 1996 – 1998. Brenda is still an active member of WVASN and currently serves as the WVASN Government Relations Committee Co-Chairperson. She is also an active member of WVNA and ANA. Brenda lives in Charleston, WV with her husband, and is a proud mother of 2 and grandmother of 3.

Beth Redden CNM, APRN, FACNM is a Nurse-Midwife in Fayette County. She currently owns Divine Beginnings WV, a small home birth practice in Oak Hill. Previously, Beth was with a hospital-based practice for 12 years, and a labor and delivery nurse since 2002. Beth is the current President of the WV Affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, a West Virginia Women’s Commissioner, and a member of the Central Advisory Committee for the WV Perinatal Partnership. During the 2022 Legislative session, she testified twice in front of the House of Representatives Health and Human Resources Committee regarding removal of Certificate of Need and attended the Senate Health Committee meeting where this same legislation was being discussed. She worked with lobbyists, collaborated with nurse leaders from around the state, spoke to countless Representatives and Senators, and attended the last day of legislation working the removal of certificate of need for birth centers bill to the very last minutes of session. She most recently attended the American Association of Birth Centers’ Birth Institute in San Diego, California where she presented the legislative efforts for birth centers in WV this year. She is actively working with key stakeholders to again present a removal of certificate of need for birth centers bill to the 2023 legislature, as well as the licensing of Certified Professional Midwives within WV.