Following research and discussion among a committed group of physicians, Hospital Board members, administration and staff, and members of the local community, The Westerly Hospital Board of Trustees has unanimously endorsed the launch of a $1,800,000 investment in health care services for the nearly 30,000 women who live in the Westerly and surrounding areas. The Women’s Health Initiative, to be funded through philanthropy, marks the latest major advancement in the Hospital’s services.
On March 23, the Hospital held an “Open House” and ribbon cutting ceremony to showcase a suite of new state-of-the art equipment including digital mammography; a stereotactic biopsy table; and a new bone density machine more sensitive than the current technology for diagnosing osteoporosis. Charles S. Kinney, President and CEO, and Margaret Austin, Vice President of Patient Care Services, provided remarks at the Open House.
In her remarks, Margaret Austin stated: “Women represent about half of our patients, but they also often take responsibility for the health care decisions for the rest of the family. They are the care-givers and deserve full-service treatment. Along with our already high patient satisfaction rates and dedicated staff, we now offer the newest diagnostic and treatment technology in the area.”
Integral to the Initiative will be the recruitment of a Women’s Health Director. Although the Hospital currently offers high quality care to women, the role of this new position will be to provide a holistic approach and oversight to the total system of care provided to women in the community through the Hospital. “Women’s health is more than just getting an annual physical,” said Austin. “It’s about breast health, obstetrics, gynecology, gastroenterology, cardiology, diet and nutrition, and more. We’re excited to be recruiting for this position which will not only advocate for the health of the women in our community, but will also work to develop a more coordinated delivery system for all of their care.”
The Women’s Health Initiative is a major undertaking for The Westerly Hospital. For this reason, the hospital is coordinating a targeted fundraising effort specifically aimed at raising more than $1,800,000. Board of Trustees members Mary Jo Orsinger and Martha Hosp, are co-chairs of the fundraising effort. “This is a grass-roots effort. Everyone is willing to help launch this Initiative because it is so important to the Westerly community,” remarked Orsinger and Hosp. Anyone wishing to donate should contact Nick Stahl, Director of Development at (401) 637-4710 or at nstahl@westerlyhospital.org.