What Women Want
Women's Center Gives Women More Options with Expanded Midlife Services

In the film "What Women Want," Mel Gibson plays an advertising executive who, after an accident, can "hear" women's innermost thoughts and uses this information to market products to them. While the film's storyline is far-fetched, marketing to female baby boomers is serious business.

Women boomers are 40 million strong in the United States. They are a generation that refuses to age, and have the purchasing power to demand products and services that keep them active, youthful and healthy well into their golden years.

"Midlife is an important transition for women," says Barbara DePree, MD, a gynecologist who has long been dedicated to women's health. "As our lifespan increases, we are attempting to have a high quality of life right up to the end."

The consumer products market has responded with an array of antiaging and health and nutrition products. Pick up any women's magazine and you'll find articles on menopause, skin care, weight management, diet and nutrition. The trend hasn't gone unnoticed by health care providers.

A new kind of care
Women's centers have sprung up across the country as women over 40 strive to remain healthy and beautiful, inside and out. Two years ago Holland Hospital responded by turning its Mammography Center for breast health into the Center for Women's Health and Wellness, adding bone density screening for osteoporosis along with other women's services.

This year the center will go a step further to give Lakeshore women what they want as shown in recent market research. During the past year, Holland Hospital conducted focus groups and surveys involving more than 200 women, ages 40 to 65, to gauge their interest in services focused specifically on menopause and other midlife concerns. "We wanted to see if the level of interest in our community parallels the national trend," explains Marketing Coordinator Matt Fors.

The answer was a resounding "yes!" While two-thirds of respondents said they are satisfied with their physician relationships, over 90 percent said they would like more information and additional services that address midlife concerns.

Top concerns
In addition to mammography and bone health services that are currently provided at the Center for Women's Health and Wellness, women want to learn more about:

• menopause and perimenopause
• metabolism (diet, nutrition and weight management)
• lifelong fitness, including exercise and heart health

DePree says the findings confirm other research showing that women want a broad range of information on how to stay healthy as they age. "There are so many midlife changes and not all are related to menopause," she says. "There are stressors, relationships, sexuality, nutrition, exercise or lack of it, and health concerns. The center can be a great resource for information."

That last idea has become a reality. This summer, the Center for Women's Health and Wellness has expanded services that focus on menopause and other concerns identified in the study. As part of the expansion, DePree has joined the center's staff as a menopause provider certified by the North American Menopause Society.

"This new service is designed to give women the opportunity to focus on midlife health issues, and then partner with health care professionals about how to best address those needs," explains DePree.

While patients can make appointments on their own or through doctor referral, the center's services aren't intended to replace a primary physician's care, stresses Kathy Austin, Holland Hospital's director of Women and Children's Services. "We see this as a way to provide more specialized, complementary care for women."

Welcoming and professional
The center's warm, inviting decor lets women know right away they are not in a typical medical facility. Relaxed and low key, it's the perfect environment for women to have honest discussions with health care professionals, notes Austin. "The center really serves a niche, and women will find understanding, empathy, information and options when they come through our doors," Austin says.

A new practice gaining ground in women's centers — of combining an appointment for an individual exam with a small group discussion led by a physician — may be explored in the future if local women are interested, DePree says.

"So many concerns are shared by women age 40 to 65 that we hear the same questions and repeat a lot of the same information over and over," she explains. "So we're looking at the concept of shared medical appointments. Nationally, this is the trend and it's well received."

DePree points out that expanding women's services underscores Holland Hospital's commitment to meeting growing community needs. "Midlife is an important time for women to reevaluate their lifestyles," she concludes. "Women realize they may have several decades of life ahead of them, and they want to focus on health and wellness. They may be feeling more mortal seeing their parents age. This is the perfect time for us to provide services for intervention, renewal and revival of their health and wellness."

Barbara DePree, MD, shares some of the new services available at Holland Hospital’s Center for Women’s Health and Wellness.

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