Arizona
Arizona plans to revoke midwife’s license after mom, baby die from home birth complications
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The state plans to take away an Arizona midwife’s license after a Safford mother and baby died during childbirth.
It happened after they were in her care for a home birth in December.
Arizona’s Family learned this is not the first time something has gone wrong with this midwife, and there are multiple documented citations that date back years.
Those past violations are concerning and frustrating for Parker Terry. The widower says he lost everything because they trusted someone who he says should have had her license revoked years ago.
“Just miss her. She should be here,” Terry said through tears. “She should be here raising her kids, being with me.”
Last Christmas was supposed to be a time of celebration for Terry and his growing family, but instead, it was marked with tragedy. He lost his wife Jordan and his newborn son Mack within a matter of hours in December after complications during a home birth.
“She started losing color in her face and I called it out to Sarah, and she just kind of just ignored me, saying that she’s doing OK,” said Terry. “When she went fully unconscious, I started freaking out obviously, and Sarah just said, ‘It’s OK. She’s just going into shock.’”
Terry says he eventually rushed her to the hospital, and Jordan was then airlifted to another hospital. But she didn’t survive, and Mack was a stillborn.
He blames certified professional midwife Sarah Kankiewicz.
Terry says his wife’s last coherent words were a plea for help.
“Even after saying, ‘I want to go to the hospital,’ ‘you can do this’ is what Sarah would say. ‘Nope, you got this. You got this,’” said Terry.
He says they hired Kankiewicz based on a referral from a friend and her claims that she specializes in VBAC delivery. VBAC is short for vaginal birth after cesarean section, which medical professionals say can be high risk and, in rare cases, can cause a uterine rupture.
That’s what Terry says happened to Jordan after they trusted Kankiewicz.
“She said everything that we wanted to hear,” said Terry.
Jordan was 28 and an ER nurse in Safford.
She has two other children who were born in the hospital. She had a C-section with her daughter and then a VBAC with her son.
Terry says she dreamed of becoming a midwife, so she wanted to experience a home birth herself to better serve her future patients.
“Her passion was babies,” Terry said. “She wanted to take care of babies. She wanted to help bring them into the world.”
After Jordan and Mack died, a complaint against Kankiewicz was filed with the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Records show she was given five citations for failure to immediately alert emergency medical services after Jordan’s lips turned white, not following sanitary practices, and not checking vitals or dilation frequently enough. The report says due to Jordan’s medical history, a midwife should not have performed a VBAC.
ADHS then filed a notice of intent to revoke her license. See the complete notice at the bottom of this report.
“There was negligence and in this negligence, two people lost their lives,” said Terry.
This isn’t the first time the state has found deficiencies in Kankiewicz’s care. Heather Flowers filed a complaint after her own traumatic birth experience when Kankiewicz was her midwife four years ago.
“I could tell that there was a tear. I didn’t know to what degree, but I went into complete shock, so I became extremely numb,” Flowers said. “My daughter also was unresponsive. She was purple.”
An investigation found Kankiewicz worked outside of her scope of practice, failed to check vital signs frequently enough, and downplayed Flowers’ severe laceration.
“We survived, you know, but my greatest fear was that this was going to happen to another mom and another baby, which is why I reported her to the state,” said Flowers.
Kankiewicz has been licensed since 2020, and she’s been issued five civil penalties by ADHS for not submitting paperwork on time. Records show thousands of dollars of fines for repeat violations, which could be significantly reduced if paid quickly.
It’s something Kankiewicz posted about on social media, even writing “Why do I have a license again?!”
“Nothing was really done,” Flowers said. “A little slap on the wrist and now we have the loss of Jordan and her son Mack.”
Between Flowers’ and Terry’s complaints, another was filed, and an investigation leading to more citations was completed in November 2023. That was just one month before Jordan and Mack died.
The November report led ADHS to file a notice of intent to suspend her license in January after determining that Kankiewicz continued to treat a mother after she was diagnosed with hypertension.
“We didn’t know that there were the citations. We didn’t know there were other statements of deficiencies. We didn’t know that there were fines,” Terry said.
The state confirmed to Arizona’s Family on Thursday that her license remains active. That means she is legally allowed to continue practicing while the investigation continues.
But in a recent social media post, Kankiewicz says she chose to give back her license and step away permanently from her current practice.
“Where’s the accountability? Where’s the consequence here?” said Terry.
Terry believes his wife and son would still be alive had the state taken previous complaints more seriously. Now, he’s pushing for change and says more oversight and regulation for midwives are needed.
“The system’s broken. There’s broken, there’s holes, there’s loopholes, there’s gray areas,” he said.
Safford police say there is an active investigation into Kankiewicz, but right now, no criminal charges have been filed.
Arizona’s Family got in touch with Kankiewicz, who said she has no comment due to the open investigation.
ADHS issued the following statement Thursday afternoon: “We acknowledge the sensitivity of the issue. This is an ongoing and open enforcement action. At this time we will not provide any further details.”
Midwife Classification
It’s important to note there are two types of midwives in Arizona and both are legal.
The nursing board oversees Certified Nurse Midwives. These are described as registered nurses who obtain an advanced nursing degree to become a midwife. They fall under the jurisdiction of the Arizona State Board of Nursing.
They are required to maintain the standards of RNs, in addition to requirements and standards for nurse-midwifery defined in the Arizona Nurse Practice Act.
There are also non-nurse midwives who, like Kankiewicz, receive a national certification and are regulated by ADHS.
Complaints can be filed for both kinds, here for nurse midwives and here for non-nurse midwives. Records for any citations are also publicly accessible.
The bottom line is that if a patient or family is seeking a midwife who has RN training, they should seek a Certified Nurse Midwife. A good place to verify their status is through nursys.com, which claims to be the only national nurse licensure and disciplinary database.
Or, contact the Arizona State Board of Nursing online here or by phone at 602-771-7800.
For more information on non-nurse midwives, ADHS has a dedicated section on its website here.
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Arizona
AP men’s basketball Top 25: Arizona remains No. 1, Nebraska earns highest ranking since 1991
Arizona maintained its position as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press men’s basketball Top 25 on Monday, earning 42 of 61 first-place votes after a week that included a 96-75 win over No. 16 Alabama.
The Wildcats (9-0), one of seven undefeated teams remaining in Division I, already own five wins over high-major opponents.
There was little movement in the top 10 after a week with few upsets. Michigan (10-0), Duke (10-0), Iowa State (11-0) and UConn (10-1) remained Nos. 2-5, respectively. The only team to move up in the top 10 was No. 7 Gonzaga (10-1), which swapped places with No. 8 Houston (10-1) after adding another top-tier win over UCLA on Saturday.
The greater movement occurred between Nos. 10-25.
Nebraska (11-0) was the biggest riser, jumping eight spots to No. 15 after Saturday’s 83-80, buzzer-beating win over No. 18 Illinois. The Huskers, the lone power-conference team to never win an NCAA Tournament game, achieved their highest ranking since 1990-91, when they finished the season No. 11.
Illinois (8-3) and No. 23 Florida (6-4) were the biggest fallers, dropping five spots apiece.
Georgia (9-1) was the lone newcomer to the poll at No. 25, while UCLA (7-3) dropped out.
Here’s the full poll, along with my ballot:
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Record
|
Prev
|
CJ’s vote
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
9-0 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
2 |
10-0 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
3 |
10-0 |
3 |
5 |
|
|
4 |
11-0 |
4 |
3 |
|
|
5 |
10-1 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
6 |
10-1 |
6 |
6 |
|
|
7 |
10-1 |
8 |
7 |
|
|
8 |
10-1 |
7 |
10 |
|
|
9 |
9-1 |
9 |
9 |
|
|
10 |
9-1 |
10 |
8 |
|
|
11 |
9-1 |
11 |
11 |
|
|
12 |
9-1 |
14 |
15 |
|
|
13 |
10-0 |
15 |
12 |
|
|
14 |
8-2 |
17 |
14 |
|
|
15 |
11-0 |
23 |
13 |
|
|
16 |
7-3 |
12 |
17 |
|
|
17 |
8-3 |
19 |
16 |
|
|
18 |
8-3 |
13 |
18 |
|
|
19 |
7-3 |
16 |
21 |
|
|
20 |
7-3 |
20 |
20 |
|
|
21 |
8-3 |
21 |
NR |
|
|
22 |
6-3 |
22 |
24 |
|
|
23 |
6-4 |
18 |
19 |
|
|
24 |
9-1 |
24 |
22 |
|
|
25 |
9-1 |
NR |
25 |
|
|
NR |
9-2 |
NR |
23 |
Others receiving votes: USC 68, Iowa 47, Seton Hall 46, LSU 19, Kentucky 19, UCLA 16, Clemson 14, California 13, Saint Mary’s 12, Arizona State 5, Villanova 5, Notre Dame 4, Indiana 4, Miami (Ohio) 4, Miami (Fla.) 4, Utah State 2, Saint Louis 1, Wisconsin 1.
How good is Nebraska?
I caught Nebraska in person earlier this season when it beat New Mexico and Kansas State in Kansas City, Mo., and I’ve been a believer since. It’s a classic Fred Hoiberg team with a playmaking big, tons of shooting and awesome offensive execution. But what also stood out was how hard the Huskers played, and the defense is better than many of his best teams of the past at Iowa State.
The numbers are starting to back that up. The Huskers are up to 28th in adjusted defensive efficiency, the highest ranking ever for a Hoiberg defense. All this team was missing was signature wins, and it got two this past week, crushing Wisconsin 90-60 and then winning on the road at No. 18 Illinois on a last-second shot.
HE HIT IT‼️
Jamarques Lawrence’s 3-pointer right before the buzzer sends No. 23 @HuskerMBB to a dramatic win at No. 13 Illinois. pic.twitter.com/PhSr8kmnQn
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 13, 2025
Arkansas could keep climbing
Arkansas fell out of my rankings for a few weeks early in the season because its computer numbers were bad after a few close calls against mid-majors. It was obvious the talent was there, but the Razorbacks just weren’t sharp early. They’re starting to play up to their talent, and I moved them up to 14th this week, which is one spot below where I had them in the preseason.
John Calipari’s best teams always have an NBA-level point guard, and he has one in Darius Acuff, who is averaging 17.7 points and 5.7 assists. Calipari also has three big wings who could develop into pros — Meleek Thomas, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond III — and as I wrote about in my weekly rankings, Trevon Brazile is playing the best ball of his career. This team is deeper and more talented than last year’s group, which got hot late and made the Sweet 16. Might still be a little low on this group.
Best team not ranked: Iowa
Iowa has yet to make the AP Top 25, but I’ve ranked the Hawkeyes the last three weeks and would argue their case was made even stronger last week in a loss. Iowa led Iowa State by 13 in the first half last Thursday at Hilton Coliseum and ended up taking a 4-point loss, which actually moved it up in the computer models. The Hawkeyes now rank 20th at KenPom and Bart Torvik, 19th in the NET and 21st at Evan Miya.
As the Hawkeyes proved against Iowa State, they are a tough out. Similar to Drake last year, Ben McCollum’s second Division I team gives nothing in transition, is hard to score against in the half court and is exhaustingly patient offensively waiting for a great shot to develop.
I can understand why my fellow voters aren’t there yet. With Ole Miss being a disappointment, you could argue Iowa is missing a signature win. The first opportunity is Jan. 3 when Iowa hosts UCLA.
Pitching was a big reason why Arizona made it back to the College World Series last season. The return of many key arms for 2026 makes it likely the Wildcats will again have a stellar staff.
Who guides those pitchers, however, is uncertain.
Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star is reporting that pitching coach John DeRouin is leaving the program for a position within the New York Mets organization. DeRouin had been elevated to pitching coach over the summer after Kevin Vance was hired as head coach at San Diego State.
DeRouin, who was a pitching strategist under Vance the previous two seasons, was integral in developing Arizona’s arms, particularly starters Owen Kramkowski and Smith Bailey and reliever Tony Pluta. That trio are among several key pitchers returning from the CWS team, with DeRouin’s promotion factoring in their decisions to stay in Tucson.
“John is like the pitching whisperer,” head coach Chip Hale said last month.
Hale could promote from within again, elevating Owen Cuffe. Whoever he hires will technically be his fourth pitching coach in five seasons. Dave Lawn handled the role in 2022-23, retained from Jay Johnson’s staff, before Vance was hired in 2024.
DeRouin is the latest in a string of college baseball coaches leaving for pro jobs. The most notable is Tennessee head coach, hired last month as manager of the San Francisco Giants
Arizona begins preseason practice in January ahead of the 2026 opener Feb. 13 against former Pac-12 rival Stanford at a tournament in Surprise.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The firm hired by Michigan to search for a football coach to replace Sherrone Moore has contacted representatives for Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham and Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because they were not authorized to share details of the search.
Moore was fired on Wednesday, when the school said an investigation uncovered his inappropriate relationship with a staffer. Two days later, Moore was charged with three crimes after prosecutors said he “barged his way” into the apartment of a woman he’d been having an affair with and threatened to kill himself.
College football’s winning program suddenly needs a coach.
After the 35-year-old Dillingham was linked to numerous open jobs last month, he said he was not leaving his alma mater.
Two weeks ago, Drinkwitz agreed to a six-year contract that increases his average compensation to $10.75 million annually.
Michigan is hoping to hire a coach this month, helping its chances of retaining recruits and keeping key players out of the transfer portal in January.
Dillingham, who is from Scottsdale, Arizona, graduated from Arizona State in 2013 and started his coaching career as an assistant for the Sun Devils. After coaching at Memphis, he was the offensive coordinator for Auburn, Florida State and Oregon before returning to Arizona State.
Dillingham orchestrated a quick turnaround, leading the Sun Devils to the Big 12 championship and the College Football Playoff for the first time last year.
Arizona State was 8-4 this season, improving Dillingham’s record to 22-16 over three seasons.
The 42-year-old Drinkwitz is 46-28 in six seasons at Missouri after going 12-1 in a year at Appalachian State. He has built the Tigers into a steady Southeastern Conference program, earning five straight bowl bids.
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