Hospital’s clinic plan: response to women’s needs

Mention earlier this month, of plans to create a women’s health clinic, to be housed at the Carolyn J. Stone Center for Women’s Health and Wellness, represents good news for the women in eight focus groups, who voiced their needs in a survey earlier this year.
Sonoma Valley Hospital Chief Executive Officer Carl Gerlach said, at the Dec. 10 meeting of the hospital’s board of directors, that he was responding to the expressed needs of the women of the community and was working to establish a clinic to address those needs.
Dr. Patricia Brooks, Director of Integrative Medicine at the hospital, has been charged with developing a women’s clinic at the Carolyn J. Stone Center for Women’s Health and Wellness. As she explained in a subsequent interview, “There is a relatively small childbearing group of women who are now seeking their birthing needs elsewhere. But the hospital is currently in the process of evaluating our services and seeing how we can expand the quality of our care.” So far, the hospital’s imaging center has begun offering services using the new bone density and digital mammography machines at the Stone Center.
“We’ve got other plans for things in that building,” Brooks said, “including health risk screening, cardiac health for women, and helping women get connected to doctors.” Also, she said, “we want to build some bridges with our Hispanic group.”
According to Bob Rice, spokesman for the hospital, doctors can be recruited to work directly at the clinic, something the hospital itself cannot do in its own facility. Brooks noted as well that this will help move plans forward for the clinic.
She also expressed delight at the new furnishings in the Stone Center. “We’re very grateful to the Stones,” she said, noting their generous contribution of all the new furniture and decorations in the building.
“I’m very enthused about them,” said Carolyn Stone. “Bob and I took on the decorating with our daughter of the new area on Perkins street. My daughter Melissa did the design of the reception desk and all the furniture. Then we ordered the chairs, new artwork. The color scheme is very pleasing to all the women, they come up and say how exciting it is to come in there.”