TORONTO, Oct. 18,
2023 /CNW/ – On World Menopause Day Sinai Health is
pleased to announce that Phase One of the creation of its Centre
for Mature Women’s Health is complete. This means the initial
$15 million fundraising goal has been
met, and the centre has appointed a Director, internationally
renowned menopause expert Dr. Wendy Wolfman. Sinai Health is
now launching Phase Two on the one-year anniversary of having
announced the creation of the centre.

Phase Two entails bringing together all existing clinics
providing care to mature women and adding new areas of focus,
ensuring specialized care will be provided for a broad spectrum of
health issues that affect mature women. Featuring a fully
integrated multi-disciplinary clinic approach, the areas of
specialized care include Menopause, Premature Ovarian
Insufficiency, Abnormal Uterine Bleeding, Urogynecology &
Female Pelvic Medicine, Vulvar Disease and Sexual Medicine, with
supporting programs planned for Breast Disorders & Cancer
Survivorship, Psychiatry & Mental Health, Osteoarthritis, and
Osteoporosis & Joint Function. Future programs will focus on
Sleep Disorders, Nutritional Sciences/Metabolic Conditions and
Cardiology & Heart Disease.

Once open, the centre will be a space tailored to its target
patient population of mature women, with features designed to
ensure comfort and ease of patient experience.  While patients
at Sinai Health’s Centre for Mature Women’s Health will initially
largely be GTA-based, the work done at the centre will have
national and international impact, as it develops standards for
care delivery and conducts research that has global implications.
Boasting North America’s only
Chair in Menopause, the centre also features an international
fellowship program, one of the few menopause post-graduate
fellowship programs in North
America.

Sinai Health first announced its Centre for Mature Women to
address a glaring health equity issue in Canada, which is that mature women dealing
with the symptoms of menopause and a variety of other related
issues are not easily able to access treatment and specialized
care, and are often unaware that treatment options exist. In a
survey commissioned by Sinai Health in 2022, which spoke to 1,200
women ages 40+ across Canada, more
than a third of respondents were not aware that treatment options
exist for menopause and perimenopause. Only half of those who
consulted their doctor about menopause, perimenopause and pelvic
floor disorders were prescribed any actual treatment.

“We are just beginning to have open and honest conversations
about the health challenges that many women encounter as they get
older. It is critical that we send the message that help is
available for women with symptoms, but we must also build capacity
and expertise in the health-care system,” said Dr. Wendy Wolfman, Director of the Menopause and
Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Clinics at Mount Sinai Hospital and
the Director of Sinai Health’s Centre for Mature Women’s Health.
“The need for this type of specialized, focused care is urgent, and
Sinai Health’s commitment to addressing the health inequity mature
women face demonstrates its leadership in supporting women’s health
across the lifespan and the full continuum of care.”

The continuation of Phase Two of the centre will include the
development of a new, larger, integrated physical space, investment
in state-of-the-art equipment, mobilization of research efforts,
promotion of menopause in medical education, and cultivating future
leaders. Finally, phase three will support core research
operations, lay the foundation for long-term collaboration and
establishing first-of-their-kind Chairs in emerging fields related
to mature women’s health.

To learn more about the new Centre for Mature Women’s Health and
to donate, please visit www.maturewomenshealth.ca.

SOURCE Sinai Health Foundation