UCSF Women's Health Center grand opening September 21

The new eight-story Women’s Health Center will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, September 21 at the UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion, 2356 Sutter Street.

The festivities will include the “Passport to Health” fair which features health information and screenings free of charge to the community from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Haile T. Debas, MD, dean of the School of Medicine and Nancy Milliken, MD, director of the UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health will lead a formal dedication ceremony beginning at 9:30 a.m.

“Women have been asking for one-stop shopping, and the new Women’s Health Center is a major step in this direction,” said Milliken, who is associate chair for clinical programs and associate clinical professor in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. “With both primary and specialty care now provided under one roof, we can achieve greater-than-ever coordination and communication between care providers. A healing garden, café and Women’s Health Resource Center welcome women on the first floor and invite them to actively participate in their health,” she said.

At the September 21 health fair, attendees can pick up “passports” to get stamped when they visit information tables or participate in health screenings. A collection of stamps will make the passport holder eligible for prizes. Among the many screenings and information topics will be adolescent, bone density, breast, heart and colorectal health.

The Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, also located at the UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion, will host lectures on body image and integrative medicine approaches to menopause. Staff will give demonstrations of Tai Chi and acupressure.

“We want to promote women’s understanding of how to make better lifestyle and treatment choices across their entire lifespan, and we’ll continue to support them in forming active partnerships with their health care providers.” said Milliken.

Learning about and serving women’s unique health needs are at the heart of the UCSF Women’s Health Center mission. The one-year-old UCSF Mount Zion Women’s Health Clinical Research Center is located nearby. Proximity of research to patient care means that new research findings become part of clinical practice more rapidly - and emerging patient care issues help guide research initiatives, Milliken said.

“The establishment of the Women’s Health Center builds on the long tradition of stellar women’s health care provided by UCSF faculty,” said Debas, who is also vice chancellor for medical affairs. “Continued research into women’s health will ensure continuing and more rapid advances in women’s health.”

National recognition of UCSF’s performance in women’s health came in 1996 when the UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health was among the first six so-designated in the nation by the US Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to clinical care, the Center of Excellence works to promote research, build community partnerships, educate future providers about the principles of women’s health and develop women’s leadership opportunities.

Women’s unique health needs are integrated into the design of the clinical services offered at the Center. Primary and preventive care as well as specialty care are now provided at the same location.

For more information about UCSF Women’s Health or the grand opening celebration and health fair, call 353-2668. For more information about the UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, call 353-7481.

Media interested in covering the Grand Opening of UCSF Women’s Health or developing a story about women’s health should call Eve Harris at UCSF News Services, (415) 885-7277.