Trillium In The News

Hospital News

Women's Health a Focus at Trillium Health Centre

December 2004

By Lynn Woods & Roula Giannidis

Women are the backbone of our community. They care for our aging parents, tend to our children and are responsible for the health of our families. And they do all of this exceptionally well. But there’s one thing women don’t do very well. Amidst all of their competing priorities, they often neglect their own health.

That’s why Trillium Health Centre has made women’s health a key focus; two new programs are providing women with the health care and information they need.

Betty Wallace Women’s Health Centre Provides High Tech Care in a Healing Environment

The Betty Wallace Women’s Health Centre, named in honour of a local resident who died of breast cancer in 1993, is like a breath of fresh air for women who go there. The spa-like Centre, dedicated to screening and early intervention for breast cancer and osteoporosis, is the first of its kind in Mississauga and the west end of Toronto. Women in these communities now have access to a wide range of integrated services provided by a team of surgeons, nurses, radiologists and technologists dedicated to the care of women with potential breast disease and osteoporosis. Mammography, bone densitometry and surgical consultations all happen within the privacy of the Women’s Health Centre, with breast ultrasound available just down the hallway.

Stereotactic breast biopsies can also be done on-site, allowing small samples from an abnormal breast mass to be obtained for examination. A radiologist completed the procedure on an outpatient basis and causes minimal discomfort.

“One of the greatest health care challenges faced by women today is navigating the system and receiving timely care,” says Jo-Anne Oake-Vecchiato, director, Women’s and Children’s Health System. “By consolidating these services into one location, Trillium will be able to track and set benchmarks for timely, coordinated care and communication with women, thereby minimizing wait times.”

With respect to our diverse community, a new alternative to hospital gowns has been introduced in the Women’s Health Centre that respects the needs of women of all ages and backgrounds. The gowns come in pleasing colours of purple or peach and include the option of an ankle-length skirt providing added comfort and coverage.

Other initiatives Trillium is introducing to provide better care to women in the region include:
• Becoming a designated Ontario Breast Screening Centre. Cancer Care Ontario runs the Ontario Breast Screening Program, a comprehensive, organized breast cancer-screening program designed to reduce mortality from breast cancer by delivering high quality breast screening to Ontario women between the ages of 50 and 74. Once the Women’s Health Centre has this designation, women over the age of 50 will be able to self-refer.
• A new uro-gynaecologist will provide specialty care close to home to women with pelvic floor disorders such as urinary incontinence and prolapse of the vagina, bladder and/or the uterus.

New Women’s Health Information Series Provides Women with the Health Information they need and seek

As part of our commitment to promoting health and wellness in our community, Trillium launched the Women’s Health Information Series to provide the women in our community with the information they need to make informed, timely and healthy decisions for themselves and their families.

Studies show that when women have access to relevant health information, they are healthier and therefore less likely to visit a hospital and take time off from work. They are also more likely to spend quality time with their families and care for their aging parents. Since women are most often the primary caregivers, if we take care of them we indirectly positively impact the health of our entire community.

Studies also show that immigrant women often encounter difficulty accessing health care because health information is not available in their language. Cultural barriers also pose a problem. Considering that 43 per cent of the one million residents in our community are foreign-born and approximately 50 percent of residents are women, Trillium felt it must also address all women’s health care needs.

“We are working to break down the barriers that prevent women from accessing important health information,” says Chris Power, Vice President, Patient Services. “Health topics to be covered will focus on issues of most concern and relevance to our diverse community, such as osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes and stroke prevention.”

Sessions are held monthly, in convenient, community-based venues in Mississauga and Etobicoke. Each month, experts from Trillium and local community organizations share information and answer questions about a particular topic. Each session has an interesting format that allows for discussion and participation among the clinical experts and audience members such as cooking demonstrations, grocery store tours and table top discussions over dinner.

The renewed focus on women’s health care has created a centre of excellence at Trillium, affording the hospital the opportunity to standardize care, research the latest developments and share information across a team of specialists who are passionate about women’s health. That will mean better, more responsive care for women in our community.

Lynn Woods is the Director of Marketing Communications and Roula Giannidis is the Public Relations Officer at Trillium Health Centre.

Media Contacts

For all media enquiries, please call Public Relations at 905-848-7580 ext. 3832.