NKC Hospital Celebrates ‘Spirit of Women’
by Kellie Houx, Columnist, Copy Editor
North Kansas City Hospital is the only hospital in the metropolitan area that is part of the consortium known as Spirit of Women. In about 55 cities around the nation, women are moving toward the forefront of health care. Membership with this consortium is a realization that hospitals are moving to see women as “powerful healthcare consumers.”
North Kansas City Hospital, says Women’s Services Director Michele Malone, wants to continue to broaden the hospital’s scope of women’s healthcare services. “We want to be a center of excellence, but also provide that outreach programming that serves women intellectually, physically and spiritually. This means combining education with relaxing events such as the upcoming Girls’ Night Out.”
The Oct. 15 event, designed for women 21 and older, starts at the Shark Bar in the Power & Light District with heart-healthy wine and snacks. “There will be lots of health information targeted at women. It’s a happy and enjoyable setting where doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and dietitians can talk about issues like breast health, women’s heart care and bone health. The doctors, male and female, like this outreach component. They don’t just educate, but inspire. We understand women don’t have a lot of spare time, but we have to get the screenings we need.”
It is past time that women get the attention they deserve, Malone says. “Medical research has been focused on men and the healthcare models don’t fit women. Now the attention is being paid to women. There is broader knowledge on heart disease, the importance of understanding bone density, and how we can improve the overall health and longevity of women.”
There is also a newly opened, modern Level 3 neonatal intensive care unit and the only metro NICU that is designed with the family in mind. Other improvements include remodeling maternity rooms, adding a first-ever lactation store where women from anywhere in the metro can purchase breastfeeding supplies, the creation of a fatigue management program and a women’s imaging center that opened in August within the hospital. Malone says the center is a “physically beautiful space” that has more a feel of a spa. “The center loses the cold medical edge of women’s health care. It may even help take some of the anxiety away as women are scheduled for procedures like mammography or a breast MRI.”
Spirit of Women events will continue, Malone says. There will be a Day of Dance in February called “Dance Your Health Out.” The event will focus on women’s heart health. “We are a heart caring certified hospital. We are celebrating 20 years of performing open-heart surgery. If women don’t come out for much of the Spirit of Women programming, women’s heart health is a critical one to catch.”
Learn more about the event on Thursday, October 15 at spiritofwomen.com/spiritgirlsnightout
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