A strong prognosis for N.M.
include specific services for women, essentially creating clinics within existing clinics. For example, Dandade says, the Rio Bravo clinic, which serves adults and children, has added specific services for pregnant as well as menopausal women. It is staffed by certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Most of the clinics as well as the women’s services offered there were added in the past 10 years.
Presbyterian’s women’s services include advanced specialties such as highrisk obstetrics, maternal fetal medicine, gynecologic oncology and reproductive endocrinology (fertility).
Better birthing care
The University of New Mexico has also responded to women’s health needs in practical ways, expanding the College of Nursing’s nurse midwifery program, for instance, and establishing a statewide cancer network through UNM Cancer Center.
That translates to more services available in more communities, which translates to lower healthcare costs. New Mexico now has the highest percentage of midwifeattended vaginal births in the nation, according to nursing college program director Julie Gorwoda.
The cancer network means collaboration with community hospitals to make sure that women get screenings and referrals.
“The real challenge in New Mexico, for all types of cancer, men and women, is people are being diagnosed too late because they lack insurance and live far from providers,” Willman says.
The UNM Cancer Center sees about half of the state’s newly diagnosed breast cancer patients each year, slightly more than 500, as well as about 1,100 previously diagnosed women from the state.
The capacity to lead
While marked progress has been made in women’s health care, an area that continues to lag behind is the placement of women into the highest decisionmaking leadership roles in health care.
“I graduated from Mayo School of Medicine in 1981 and at the time maybe 15 percent of the graduating class were women,” says Willman. “Today, more women than men graduate from medical schools so at least half or more of doctors are women now.”
Despite that, Willman says less than 10 percent of full professorships at medical schools as well as other medical field leadership roles are filled by women.
Willman is one of the few exceptions.
“We’re really proud because we are one of the nation’s 62 top cancer centers, and of those only seven are run by women.”
Deanna Kyrimis, CEO of the Heart Institute, says her leadership role allows her to “bring a keen insight into the very well-known fact that women take care of themselves last. They focus on their loved ones before getting around to taking care of themselves.”
Because women are the primary drivers of healthcare decisions within the family, it’s important to get women information about maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle, knowing it will be transmitted to other family members, she adds.
“I’m in a good position to continue to support widespread healthcare access for all New Mexicans.”