Hospitals strive to put spin on women's health

When it comes to health care, what do women want?

It's a question that's increasingly important to the nation's hospitals, given that women are often the family's primary researchers, advocates, caregivers, and decision-makers for health care.

Women make over 80 percent of health-care choices, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. They choose their children's doctors (85 percent), take them to appointments (84 percent), and ensure they get recommended care (79 percent), reports the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In South Jersey, Virtua and Cooper University Health Care primary-care centers are going toe to toe to attract female patients. Both the Virtua for Women program, which has offices in Moorestown, Voorhees and Washington Township, and The Ripa Center for Health and Wellness in Voorhees are staffed by female doctors who offer a wide variety of services, along with wellness programs tailored to women. These can include everything from same-day screening mammograms in a spa-like atmosphere, to fresh cappuccino to snacks if an appointment runs over lunchtime, all delivered in soothing environments designed to take the edge off a doctor's visit.

At Virtua, patients can take advantage of on-site supervised child care for children six months through age 12 and spa services, while the Ripa Center offers fitness classes and complimentary computer cubicles for women's use while they wait for appointments.

"I'm happy to see that someone is trying to modify the health care relationship with patients," says Lisa-Joy Cohen, 60, a retired teacher from Voorhees, and a patient at Virtua for Women. "There's more time to talk through issues and a more genuine relationship with your doctor."

Debra Sorge, 57, a marketing consultant from Philadelphia, goes to The Ripa Center. "For me, it's more comfortable to deal with a woman," she says. Sorge finds the atmosphere relaxing, citing a mammogram that included comfortable robes, lemon water, herbal teas and plasma screens depicting nature images to distract patients from the procedure. "It's over before you know it," she says.

Not all observers are sold on the idea.

"It's a marketing strategy connected to how women make health-care decisions for families," says Alan Zuckerman, president of Health Strategies & Solutions Inc., a Philadelphia-based consulting firm. He warns that "the market is changing dramatically, with much more effort by insurers to decrease the ability of consumers to go wherever they want. It makes me wonder about the viability of these programs on a long-term basis."

Such offerings "may find themselves going after affluent consumers who can pay in cash," adds Zuckerman. "I think it's a little dicey."

Others disagree.

"It's a marketing ploy, but I think it's a good one," says physician Paula Stillman, a consultant in population health and a former Temple University Health executive. "It makes people more comfortable to go into services for women, to people who are more sensitive to women."

A focus on women's care isn't new. Many hospital programs and private practices have concentrated on women's care. Crozer-Keystone Health System launched the Osteoporosis Center of Delaware County, which now has four locations while St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne sponsors a yearly expo for women's health that draws 500 participants.

What makes programs like Virtua for Women and the Ripa Center different is a comprehensive approach to women's health care provided by female doctors at specific locations, better access to the health system, and a laser focus on personalized and preventive medicine.

At the Ripa Center, founded in 2007, female patients can receive treatment from female doctors in multiple subspecialties, including ob-gyn, cardiology, rheumatology, gastroenterology, and pulmonology. A centralized number allows patients to connect with Cooper's resources.

"When I think about women's lives and how busy they are juggling jobs and family members and trying to take care of themselves, it's helpful to have multiple services in one location," says Laura Picciano, who practices primary care internal medicine at the center. "We try to be complementary. If you're coming in for a doctor's visit, but are also interested in getting in shape, we can offer help with that as well."

Virtua for Women, introduced on April 1, 2014, offers many of the same services as Ripa, but stresses longer appointment times to allow doctors to build deeper relationships with patients and a navigation system staffed by female navigators who offer guidance to women who may be uncertain how to access care for their concerns. These navigators can make appointments with specialists, as well as for diagnostic imaging, procedures and other services. The navigation service includes follow up calls to check whether callers were satisfied with their experience.

"It keeps patients connected to the system and gives them a place to be listened to," says Kelly Nierstedt, assistant vice president for the Women's and Children's Service Line at Virtua. "The basic tenet of our program is that for a woman to take care of herself, she needs to leave with an experience, not a transaction. The navigation system is meant to make a woman feel she can easily access what she needs."

"We want to make sure a woman is healthy enough to be the CEO of the household," says Nierstedt. "If she can find everything she needs at Virtua that meets her healthcare, wellness and lifestyle issues, of course we hope she will think of Virtua for her family as well."

mice30@comcast.net