HERMITAGE Facility focuses on women's health

Male patients can use the center for certain diagnostic procedures.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- It may be called the Womancare Center but men are welcome too, at least in the Diagnostic Center portion of the building.
The $4.5 million facility on North Hermitage Road is designed to provide women of all ages with the convenience of having quality, comprehensive health care services at a single location.
Male patients can go there too for certain diagnostic procedures, said Dr. Gina L. Micchia, the center's medical director.
Doctors can send men to the center for blood work, X-rays and EKGs, for example, she said.
The main focus, however, is on women, and the bulk of the 25,000-square-foot facility targets their specific health needs.
Four physician suites to serve women occupy about 60 percent of the space and the Diagnostic Center takes up the rest.
There are specialty diagnostic tools for women such as stereotactic breast biopsy, mammography and bone density testing equipment as well as a full range of other diagnostic tools.
The center is a joint project of UPMC Horizon and Magee Womens Hospital.
"There will be a lot of patient education and community outreach," Micchia said.
It boasts a Resource Center that will be computer-linked to all of Magee's sites that will allow people to do research on specific medical conditions or diseases. That's free to the public without an appointment, Micchia said.
Full-time: There's a Lactation Center and a full-time lactation consultant to help women who want to breast-feed their children and an Education Room where Lamaze and other classes and lectures dealing with prevention and wellness will be offered.
Micchia said the center will provide domestic violence and other counseling services.
It will also offer prenatal care and testing as well as services for newborns and children, she said.
"Services provided at the center will follow Magee Womens' Womancare philosophy," said Irma Goertzen, president and chief executive officer of Magee.
"The woman is at the center of all we do. Magee's approach is to treat her with dignity, empower her through education and bring comprehensive, appropriate care in the community where the woman lives."
"Our partnership with Magee-Womens Hospital, one of the nation's leading hospitals devoted exclusively to the care of women and infants, assures we offer a center devoted to the unique health care needs of women," said J. Larry Heinike, president and chief executive officer of UPMC Horizon.
Kim Lombardi, R.N., is the clinical director of the facility.
People can get a first-hand look at the center during a public dedication and open house from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Molly Barker, founder and executive director of the Girls on the Run program, will be the featured speaker.