Making women’s health a priority in Thurston County and beyond
In the late 1970s, Angela J. Bowen, MD, saw a need for more accessible health care for women and their families. As a passionate and dedicated provider, she spearheaded a campaign to improve access to women’s health care services, successfully bringing a second hospital to Olympia — Capital Medical Center.
MultiCare purchased Capital Medical Center in April 2021, making it a nonprofit hospital for the first time in its history. Dr. Bowen’s legacy inspired the strategic plan for MultiCare Capital Medical Center, which is extensively focused on expanding care for women.
An advocate for this critical cause, Monica Young, MD, is picking up where Dr. Bowen left off and leading this significant effort. Dr. Young has been a surgeon at Capital Medical Center with her husband, Timothy Feldmann, MD, for nearly six years.
“Historically, the medical world has been a male-dominated profession, so I do think that’s part of where medicine has been geared toward — that male perspective,” Dr. Young says. “For this effort, we’re trying to reevaluate things, play a little catch-up and look at how we deliver care. I think it’s important to bring it back to overall wellness, well-being, preventative care — really trying to provide something that women feel like is customized for them and aligned with what they want their care to be.”
Dreaming up a center for women’s health
The first step toward expanding access to care for women in Thurston County was launching the Women’s Community Advisory Council this past June, with a goal of meeting and gathering input from women in the community, hearing from specialists and creating a vision for a donor-supported Center for Women’s Health — the first of its kind in the region.
Every woman deserves compassionate health care at every step of their journey, but sometimes existing barriers prevent them from seeking care. In a study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly 25 percent of the women surveyed had delayed care because they couldn’t find time to go to the doctor; 15 percent had trouble securing child care; and nearly 25 percent delayed because of the cost.
In a study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly 25 percent of the women surveyed had delayed care because they couldn’t find time to go to the doctor; 15 percent had trouble securing child care; and nearly 25 percent delayed because of the cost.
A one-stop shop for women’s health care needs would not only prevent some of these delays, but it would also provide a safe space for women to address their health care beyond a yearly checkup.
“When you go to your primary care doctor and you have 15 things on your list that you want to talk about, you’ll probably get to one or two,” Dr. Feldmann explains. “These ‘extras’ that aren’t life-threatening — like pelvic floor incontinence and leakage — don’t hit the top of the list but can significantly affect women. To be able to say, ‘Come here, get help. Don’t suffer in silence’ — that’s what I look forward to in the center.”
The first phase of this project is estimated to be completed by the end of 2023, featuring a strong support system for patients. This might include a health care navigator, a cancer coordinator, a social worker, a rotating breast surgeon, a rotating pelvic floor specialist, and a primary care department with two female family medicine providers and two female internal providers, as well as a place to look after children so parents can have unencumbered and devoted time with their providers.
“I’m excited to create a space inspired by the Women’s Community Advisory Council,” says Will Callicoat, Capital Medical Center president. “The committee members have volunteered their time providing input and feedback into what care should look like in the Women’s Center. We’re passionate to implement their vision and have a dedicated focus on women’s services in a new and innovative way.”
A community spirit of generosity
Along with committing her time to the Women’s Community Advisory Council, Dr. Young supports reducing barriers to care through MultiCare Gives, MultiCare’s employee and volunteer giving program.
“I’ve always loved the idea of being in a community and providing a service to that community,” Dr. Young says. “Especially because this is where our family is. I want them to feel like they can come to their local hospital and receive great care, and I want that for all the other families in the community as well. As a medical professional, there are lots of different ways to provide a service, but I feel like this is the way I feel called to provide and to serve.”
