The Fayette County Memorial Hospital (FCMH) Women’s Wellness Center will be opening fully in October with the open house scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17.
“The idea for women when they come to the center is completely different than what they’ve experienced before,” said FCMH Director of Marketing and Foundation Chelsie Hornsby. “We want to bring women back into getting gynecological exams. This whole idea came about because for the longest time, the Foundation has wanted to raise money for a digital mammography machine, and thanks to and with help from the partnership with OSU, we were able to secure that machine for a quarter of the price. That is what allowed the Foundation to raise over $200,000. This is the same machine that you’d be seeing if you went to Columbus at The James. This was really impressive because we ended up raising the money in about nine months. This has a huge impact on the community. Women will no longer have to travel outside of Fayette County for a digital mammogram because it will now be right here at FCMH. We are all about buying local, shopping local and really want to be able to get healthcare local.”
The Women’s Wellness Center’s mission is to elevate the wellness of the women in our community by providing individually focused optimal care, education, and support. The vision is to provide leadership in women’s health needs by offering compassionate, coordinated, premier medical care, to foster hope, healing, and recovery.
“We spent a lot of time making everything look just right, so it’s personal. There are a lot of little great details throughout the center,” said Hornsby. “We want art on the walls and we have a heater filled with soft robes for when patients come in for their exams. We want to maximize comfort while maximizing wellness. We are just going the extra mile, customer service wise, care-wise, everything.”
In addition to the recently purchased digital mammography, other services will include a dexa scan (CT bone density) and in time, an ultrasound unit.
“The hospital already has an ultrasound unit, but we want to be able to give women everything they need, right here,” said Hornsby. “Our goal is to keep raising funds to make this a comprehensive center.”
The center will have several women’s support groups, a mindful meditation practice thanks to practical wellness, massage therapy from Serene Spaces, and a “Pampering PinkStyle” with a Partner in Pink Room sponsored by Tanger Outlets.
Dr. Cynthia Morris is a board-certified gynecologist who specializes in women’s health, serving as the medical director for the center. Morris’s practice includes routine gynecological and breast exams, management of irregular or heavy periods, abnormal pap smears, mammograms, pelvic pain and menopausal issues. She holds a specialized certification as a menopause practitioner, and is able to provide focused care for women ages 15 and up.
“In a hospital you have lots of different departments, and the pride that everyone has taken in creating this center is really obvious, and truly delightful,” said Morris. “I’ve been here working with these people in the center for just over a couple months, and it’s been really exceptional. I feel really fortunate to be here and to work with all these people. Our goal now is to get women to come here and get their mammograms done and get this off the ground completely. We are extremely fortunate to have Dr. Barrows now. He’s really committed to spending extra time with the patients. He’s done some really incredible things, just the way he looks at the scans, the way he thinks about the long-term effects on the patients. He’s happy to sit and counsel women, and a lot of times radiologists aren’t excited to do this, but he’s been a great way to help us raise our level of care for the women in the community.”
Dr. Michael Barrows, a full time radiologist at FCMH, will also be a part of the care team at the Women’s Wellness Center. He is an ABR board certified radiologist from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Barrows brings 17 years of experience in diagnostic imaging, including extensive experience in all areas of breast imaging and image-guided breast biopsy. Dr. Barrows also brings knowledge in integrative medicine for optimizing health in all areas, with a particular focus on lowering risk of developing breast cancer.
Mammograms are suggested for women starting at the age of 40 unless family history suggests they should begin earlier. It is recommended that women get a yearly pap smear to check for cervical cancer.
The Women’s Wellness Center, which has been under construction since this summer, is located in Medical Arts Building 2 in Suite 110. The open house on Oct. 17 will begin at 10:30 a.m.
