VCU news

By Michael Ford
University News Services

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University has become the only institution in the Southeastern United States to earn one of six new designations as a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"VCU's selection as a National Center of Excellence in Women's Health is a tribute to the expertise and perseverance of many faculty and staff dedicated to women's health care issues,” said Dr. Sheldon Retchin, CEO of the VCU Health System and VCU vice president for Health Sciences. “This award is richly deserved, and will enable this talented group of individuals to continue their research, education and clinical care to improve the health of women nationwide."

The national centers integrate women’s health research, medical training, clinical care, public health education, community outreach, and the promotion of women in academic medicine toward a common mission – improving the mental and physical health of diverse women across the life span.

“While VCU brings a lot of assets to the National Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health program, establishing a center in Richmond will simultaneously address many local and regional health needs among women, and work to overcome a number of health disparities associated with culture or socio-economic status,” said Susan G. Kornstein, M.D., professor and chair of ambulatory psychiatry and executive director of the VCU Institute for Women’s Health. “With the Center of Excellence designation, VCU will be able to leverage additional funding for research, community outreach, infrastructure support, and training and will also increase awareness and utilization of VCU Medical Center clinical services for women.”

Over the past decade, VCU has invested faculty and clinical expertise, funds, and facilities to both consolidate and expand a range of existing women’s health care, research, and education programs. Most significantly, the VCU Institute for Women’s Health was established in 1999 to improve the health of women through health education, research, clinical care, and leadership development. The institute was created to bring these diverse activities under a single umbrella, create synergy within VCU, and foster coordinated alliances with the greater community. 

“This designation validates that we are competitive with the best academic medical centers in the country when it comes to Women’s Health,” said Wendy S. Klein, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine and director of education in the VCU Institute for Women’s Health. “It validates both the excellent work done at VCU Medical Center and the outstanding multidisciplinary clinical services at the VCU Women’s Health Center at Stony Point, which will be the focal point of the new VCU National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health.“  

VCU, along with Brown University, University of Arizona, University of Minnesota, University of Mississippi Medical Center and Oregon Health & Science University join 12 existing Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health previously recognized by the Office on Women’s Health of the HHS Department. 

For more on the VCU Institute for Women’s Health, go to www.womenshealth.vcu.edu and visit www.4woman.gov, for more on the Office on Women’s Health.