St. Kate’s hosts its 4th annual Women’s Health Day event
By Skylar Mattson
On Saturday, Nov. 8th, St. Mary’s Health Clinics and the Sisters of St. Joseph partnered to host their fourth annual Women’s Health Day event at St. Kate’s. Around forty women with poor access to healthcare received free annual women’s examinations that included age-appropriate screening as well as clinical breast examinations. Besides their examination, the women in attendance at the event were also offered COVID-19 and Flu vaccines, fluoride treatments and additional health resources from the women’s health fair.
St. Kate’s students from the Masters of Physician Assistant Studies, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and nutrition and dietetics programs use their skills to give back to the women who attended. To develop and enhance their pelvic health examination skills, PA students complete the women’s health examinations under the supervision of their faculty. OT and PT students host a booth at the women’s health fair, where the women are given educational materials on mindfulness as well as rice socks, which can be used to alleviate body pain. Nutrition students hosted a food shelf with items donated from the Food Access Hub.
St. Kate’s MPA student, Mumtaz Ahmed, volunteering at the Days for Girls booth.
Days for Girls also hosted a booth at the Women’s Health Fair, where women could receive a women’s hygiene kit that included reusable menstrual pads.
The breast examinations performed at the event would not be possible without St. Mary’s Health Clinic with Park Nicollet, providing a mobile breast imaging unit called Mammo A Go-Go. The fluoride treatments done at the event are facilitated through M Health Fairview, as well as U of MN dental students who assist with treatments.
Women’s Health Day was started 4 years ago by Dr. Amy Kelly, the medical director of St. Kate’s Master of Physician Assistant Studies program. When St. Kate’s first opened its St. Mary’s Medical and Rehabilitative Therapies (SMMART) Clinic, Kelly noticed that many of the women seen were in need of their annual health examination. Kelly suggested that St. Kate’s should host a Women’s Health Day event to provide annual women’s health and breast examinations to women in need. Kelly shared that the first event hosted in 2021 was successful, so the event has become an annual tradition.
When asked why women’s health is important to her, Kelly shared, “Women's health is foundational to the health of families and communities. When women have access to compassionate, evidence-based care, they are better able to care for themselves and the world around them. For me, women's health care is not just about treating illness; it's about empowering women to understand their bodies, make informed choices, and receive care that honors their dignity and diversity.”
A key woman who works behind the scenes to organize Women’s Health Day is Sue Gehlsen, Executive Director of St. Mary’s Health Clinics. Gehlsen shared that planning that goes into Women’s Health Day typically starts about three to four months prior to the event. Gehlsen’s role is facilitating the resources to support the activities at the event, organizing volunteers and needed supplies on the day of the event, and leading the charge in the planning of the event.
Gehlsen shared, “This event is very special and allows for excellent health services for women beyond what they might have access to otherwise. We try to make it special; it's much more than a clinic visit, and we address many of the social determinants of health also.”
