Marietta Anthony, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Women’s Health
Arizona Health Sciences Center
Phone: (520) 626-0218
Phone: (520) 626-5660 Darla Franklin
Fax: (520) 626-7382
E-mail: manthony@email.arizona.edu

Clinical Services Contact: 520-694-6010

In October 2003, the University of Arizona (UA) received the prestigious designation of a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health (CoE) from the Office on Women’s Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The UA CoE has a multidisciplinary team of health care providers, researchers, administrators and staff committed to improving women’s health. The objectives are accomplished through five integrated cores, each of which is evaluated to determine if goals are being met.

CoE Clinical Core
The mission of the UA CoE clinical core is to provide comprehensive care that is woman-centered, evidence-based, culturally competent and community responsive. Clinical care emphasizes prevention and early detection.The UA CoE clinic is called the Women’s Health and Resource Center (WHRC) and is located at University Medical Center (UMC). The satellite clinic, the Women and Families Health Center at University Physicians Healthcare at Kino, is staffed by family practitioners, gynecologists and obstetricians. The UA Women’s Mental Health Program also provides clinical care and performs research with an emphasis on pregnant and postpartum women with depression.Another goal of the UA CoE clinical core is to provide appropriate care for women in the setting that delivers the best clinical outcomes. The CoE clinic has seamless referral to oncology (an NCI designated Cancer Center of Excellence), rheumatology (Arthritis Center of Excellence), cardiology (Sarver Heart Center), internal medicine, urogynecology, breast imaging, and integrative medicine. In addition to providing comprehensive clinical services for women, this collaboration allows for training of medical students, residents and fellows across departments.

CoE Research Core
Women’s health research includes the biomedical sciences as well as behavioral and social sciences. The UA CoE has initiated research seminars, roundtables, and forums to stimulate research in women’s health, sex-based biology and gender-specific medicine. The UA CoE serves an important role as a catalyst to develop information on clinical trials to foster recruitment of women, and in the mentoring of young women as new investigators.

CoE Outreach Core
Community outreach provides information on health promotion, disease prevention, and reducing health disparities. UA places strong emphasis on outreach due to Arizona’s profile, which is ethnically and racially diverse and has large rural areas. The UA CoE Outreach Core has worked extensively in women’s health, rural health, health disparities, the health of Hispanic and American Indian populations and the medically underserved. A goal of the Outreach Core is to establish new and enhance existing community-based partnerships that focus on women’s health. The UA CoE’s website [http://womenshealth.arizona.edu] is a resource for the community, healthcare providers, and researchers providing information on healthcare issues, funding opportunities, and events.

CoE Education Core
Medical education involves the transmission of factual information and an understanding of a complex and evolving health care delivery system. The goal of the UA CoE Education Core is to integrate the latest scientific information on women’s health, sex-based biology, and gender specific medicine in the College of Medicine curriculum.

CoE Leadership Core
Results of the UA project, Generating Respect for All in a Climate of academic Excellence (GRACE), provide baseline information regarding the status of women faculty at the College of Medicine (COM) in 2000, against which progress can be objectively measured. The UA CoE Leadership Core work-plan builds on the solutions proposed in the GRACE project and specifically addresses salary and rank of COM faculty. Another goal is the development and implementation of a mentoring program.

Community Partners
To improve women’s health, the UA CoE has developed alliances and works with other UA departments, colleges, centers, as well as community organizations, community health centers and hospitals, and the Governor’s Commission on the Health Status of Women and Children in Arizona.