More than 100 community members and leaders attended the inaugural Santa Barbara Women’s Health Coalition meeting in October.
The event was hosted by Dr. Katrina Mitchell, a local breast surgeon, and Kathy Kelly the development director at Montessori Center School.
The coalition arrived at several key takeaways. Most notable was that women are experiencing significant challenges accessing comprehensive healthcare in Santa Barbara County, according to a news release from the coalition.
SBWHC seeks to drive healthcare innovation focused on the unique needs of women throughout all phases of life. The coalition’s goals include developing a space for women in both of these arenas to feel heard, seen, supported, and safe.
Since the October meeting, SBWHC established committees that are tasked with conducting a community needs assessment focused on the following areas of women’s health: adolescence through young adults, chronic health conditions, health equity and racial health disparities, LGBTQ+ health, maternal health, and menopause and aging. SBWHC will then present its findings to local organizations and discuss shared opportunities to improve women’s health in the Santa Barbara community.
“Women are the foundational caregivers in our society, driving medical decisions for children, parents, partners, and countless others,” Dr. Mitchell said. “It is important to investigate and address challenges to accessing and providing comprehensive and equitable care for the unique needs of women in our community.”
The coalition recently named the committee chairs, whose role will be to drive discussions and the completion of the needs assessment in their assigned area of women’s health.
The SBWHC is welcoming more participation. If you are interested in joining a committee, contact sbwhc2022@gmail.com.
email: kzehdner@newspress.com
COMING UP:
More about the coalition will appear in Wednesday’s
News-Press.
