Let’s get one factor straight. There’s at all times been ladies in medication. So long as people have been round, ladies have performed a key position in therapeutic, mending, and caring for the sick. That ladies have taken on medical titles and roles beforehand reserved for males is much less a mirrored image of ladies’s means to ship healthcare than an instance of tenacity not giving into entrenched insurance policies of bias.
At UVA Well being, we have fun all of the methods during which ladies have labored to make medication out there, reasonably priced, accessible, and equitable. We acknowledge the trailblazers who pushed the boundaries of acceptability in addition to the ladies who, nonetheless immediately, attempt to ship inclusive care and create areas within the medical system that function with parity and equity.
Yearly, our writing group will get to speak to ladies in medication doing unbelievable issues to enhance the lives and wellbeing of individuals all through Virginia and past.
This is a couple of of our latest favorites.
Serving to Infants Sleep Throughout the Nation
Rachel Moon, MD, is a UVA Well being Youngsters’s pediatrician and a protected sleep skilled. Moon helped write the American Academy of Pediatrics’ up to date suggestions for lowering sudden toddler demise syndrome (SIDS). With greater than a decade of learning each the causes and prevention of SIDS, few persons are extra knowledgeable on the significance of protected sleep.
Turning the Genetic Keys
Chelsea Chambers, MS, CGC, helps folks untangle their genetic histories. She’s a genetic counselor at UVA Well being with a particular focus in neurogenetics.
Her work performs a key position in serving to sufferers discover out one of the best ways to stop or plan for severe inherited sickness. She solutions to sufferers’ frequent questions on neurogenetics, genetic counseling, and testing for neurological circumstances.
Measuring Care to Guarantee Equality
Bizz Glover co-chairs UVA Well being’s LGBTQ & Transgender Advisory Committee. She was additionally a part of a management group that helped UVA Well being College Medical Heart earn a “Chief” rating of 100 within the 2024 Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). This index charges over 2,200 healthcare services on how nicely their insurance policies and practices help LGBTQ+ sufferers, guests, and workers. Her dedication to rising inclusion for each affected person ensures that individuals who have typically confronted discrimination and denial of companies get the compassionate care they deserve.
A Uncommon Professional for a Too-Widespread Downside
Day by day within the U.S., 4-5 kids die from abuse and neglect. Regardless of the variety of kids affected, pediatricians who specialise in little one abuse are uncommon. In Virginia, there are 3.
Jennifer Andrews, DO, is 1 of these 3. In her extremely specialised position as a toddler abuse pediatrician, Andrews search for indicators of abuse in forensic exams, consults with docs who need a second opinion, and helps advocate for tactics to stop little one abuse. Her presence at UVA Well being Youngsters’s means youngsters all through the area have somebody with the precise coaching and information to validate, heal, and shield them after they want it most.
Making a Lifetime Impression Throughout Disparities
Wendy Cohn, MEd, PhD, is UVA Well being Most cancers Heart’s affiliate director for neighborhood outreach and engagement. She leads a group that works to stop and cut back most cancers within the areas UVA Well being serves. Latest efforts have prolonged to rural areas of Virginia that lack entry to the form of skilled healthcare positioned in cities. Cohn’s management will proceed to influence the lives of untold numbers of individuals for years to come back.