The Carolyn J. Stone Center for Women’s Health and Wellness opened Tuesday, April 15 at the Sonoma Valley Hospital.
Photo by Melania Mahoney.
The Carolyn J. Stone Center for Women’s Health and Wellness at Sonoma Valley Hospital opened on Tuesday in front of an elbow-to-elbow crowd of hundreds of volunteers and supporters who turned out to celebrate the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
A true grassroots community effort turned an idea into a reality in less than two years, thanks to a dedicated group of women who formed the Community Advisory Board, led by Karen Collins, and worked tirelessly to develop the structure and raise funds for equipment and personnel, and the partnership of the Sonoma Valley Hospital.
Patterned after the National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), considered one of the top programs of its kind in the country, the Carolyn J. Stone Center will offer services and resources to meet the health and wellness needs of the women of Sonoma Valley. Dixie Horning, director of the UCSF Women’s Health Center, was on hand to affirm that UCSF was “happy to contribute to the ‘birth’ of the Center and will continue to collaborate with the Stone Center on its programs.”
Sonoma mayor Joanne Sanders also spoke, recalling that as a young girl, she and her mother often found it necessary to go out of town for medical services for women. “With the opening of this center,” she said, “we can be assured that the women of this community will be healthy and thrive.” Stepping up to cut the ribbon to the Center, Carolyn Stone remarked, “Three years ago, we had a dream – a vision that, through the cooperation of the Sonoma Valley Hospital and the women who worked tirelessly to achieve it, is realized today.”
The center is open Mon. – Wed. and located in the Sonoma Valley Hospital, 347 Andrieux St., Sonoma; 707.935.5055 or www.stonewomenscenter.com.
