While women's health centers and programs are in high demand, most hospitals are at a loss in determining how to best develop them. Government-sponsored academic and community-
focused women's health efforts are expected to provide strategic clarity.
Last month, the Health and Human Service's Office on Women's Health announced the recipients of three five-year cooperative grants of $150,000 each for community-based women's
health programs. The department plans to award 12 additional grants over the next couple of years.
The programs will be promoted as National Community Centers of Excellence in Women's Health and are expected to be models of holistic women's health services based on six
criteria:
- comprehensive health service delivery, particularly in preventive health areas;
- training for lay workers and professional health providers on the importance of integrated women's health services;
- community-based research;
- public education and outreach;
- leadership development for women; and
- technical assistance to other communities that want to replicate the program.
The overall goal of these programs is to develop one-stop centers for women to receive integrated healthcare services, as opposed to centers that traditionally offer fragmented
services that focus primarily on OB/GYN care, says Susan Clark, director of program management for the Office of Women's Health. Women's health grants were awarded to the
Northeast Missouri Health Council, St. Barnabas Hospital and Healthcare System and Mariposa Community Health Center in Nogales, Ariz.
Networking among community healthcare providers will be a key way for these programs to achieve integrated healthcare delivery. St. Barnabas Hospital is spearheading an
alliance of area healthcare providers, academic institutions and local organizations to develop strategies aimed at reducing access barriers for women, particularly those who are
uninsured, in Bronx communities. Its program will immediately focus on cancer, diabetes, hypertension, mental and cardiovascular conditions, says Dr. Mildred Alan, SVP at St.
Barnabas. To reach the large Hispanic population in the Bronx, the program will also promote an English-as-a-second language service that prioritizes Spanish outreach and
marketing.
For rural healthcare providers coordinated access to comprehensive healthcare services is particularly challenging for women. The Northeast Missouri Health Council (NMHC) is
tackling this issue by collaborating with five community providers of primary care, mental health, abuse victim support, dental care and medical research. The immediate outreach
priority will be to develop targeted efforts that focus on Hispanic women in eight medically underserved rural areas in Northeast Missouri. Over the next five years it expects to
reach 6,000 women, says Brooks Miller, NMHC's director.
This month, Clark will meet with the grant recipients to hammer out cooperative guidelines for developing community outreach, partnering strategies and market research that can
be replicated in other communities. A Web site also is in the works. By 2002, HHS expects to report qualitative and quantitative women's health outcomes from the 15 pilot programs
it is slated to fund.
(HHS, Susan Clark, 301/443-1389; St. Barnabas, Dr. Mildred Alan, 718/960-0348; NMHC, 660/627-5757)