U named National Center of Excellence in Women's Health

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

U OF M DESIGNATED NATIONAL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN WOMEN'S HEALTH

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (Oct. 3, 2003) -- The University of Minnesota has been designated a National Center of Excellence in Women's Health by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Women's Health.

A National Center of Excellence in Women's Health designation is a formal commitment to women's health research, clinical care, education, community outreach, and development for women faculty. Institutions must demonstrate in a competitive process the ability to focus on all facets of women's health. The University was chosen because of its superiority in five key areas: clinical care, education, research, leadership development, and outreach. This award puts the University of Minnesota in the company of other highly successful academic institutions previously funded, such as Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California at San Francisco, and the University of California at Los Angeles.

"This is truly an interdisciplinary effort including the schools of nursing, public health, pharmacy, medicine, the Duluth campus, and community partners, that will allow us to share superb university resources across the state," said Anne Taylor, M.D., associate dean of faculty affairs in the Medical School and co-director of the program. "Our faculty, affiliate hospitals, and community partners allow us to address women's physical, psychological, and social health in rural and urban settings, and among the diverse cultural and geographic populations across the state. Because women are the key health managers in families, improvement in women's health in Minnesota will strengthen family and community health."

Examples of collaborative work include developing a network of all women's health services across disciplines and institutions, so that physicians can easily access the most appropriate treatment for patients, developing culturally sensitive women's health care best practices to use across the state, working with community partners to find out the most efficient ways of providing patient education, and making the university's cutting edge women's health research available more widely to all Minnesota women.

Resources and support for this program come from multiple schools in the Academic Health Center--Medical School, School of Nursing, School of Public Health, and College of Pharmacy--affiliate hospitals, community partners, and special programs such as the Rural Physician Associate Program, the Center of Excellence in American Indian and Minority Health, Pilot City Health Clinic, and Community-University Health Care Center.

"The University has historically been a leader in women's health issues," said Deborah Powell, M.D., dean of the Medical School. "Now all the expertise from around the University will be centralized and focused on delivering to the women of Minnesota the absolute best health care possible."

The director of the program is Nancy Raymond, M.D., an associate professor of psychiatry. Anne Taylor, M.D. a professor of medicine/cardiology and associate dean for faculty affairs and Dan Landers, M.D. professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and women's health are co-directors of the program. Professors from the Medical school, School of Nursing, and School of Public Health are leading other program components.

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