Maria Shriver opens Cleveland Clinic Women’s Health Center

CLEVELAND (WJW) — A special ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday as Cleveland Clinic launches a new center to provide comprehensive care for midlife women and beyond.

Kim Litten, of North Ridgeville, said she had a hysterectomy before the age of 30.

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She’s now 54  and dealing with menopause. Litten said she recently got an unexpected diagnosis while working as a patient coordinator at Cleveland Clinic.

“I learned that if you have a lack of estrogen and hormones in your body at a young age, that can cause a 60-percent rise in cardiac issues.”

“This is a historic day in Cleveland Clinic’s illustrious history,” said journalist, author, and activist Maria Shriver.

Shriver is in town to help Cleveland Clinic launch its new Women’s Comprehensive Health and Research Center which is dedicated to helping women during midlife and beyond get easy access to specialized care.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 80 percent of women over the age of 55 have at least one chronic condition, like cancer, arthritis, or heart disease, which Cleveland Clinic doctors said strengthens the need for more comprehensive medical care for women in this stage of life.

“This is a space I’ve been working on for the last 20-something years, so I was keenly aware that we lack the research when it comes to women’s health and women’s care,” Shriver said.

As the founder of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement and Research Center at Cleveland Clinic, she will also serve as Chief Visionary and Strategic Advisor of the newly created Women’s Health Center. The center will focus on specialized care in behavioral health, breast health, cardiovascular care, and menopause.

“There was nothing out there for women at midlife, there was nothing out there for women and Alzheimer’s and so when you see an opening like that you can either complain or build it and so I set about to build it,” Shriver said.

Dr. Pelin Batur, an OB/GYN who helped launch the women’s center said, “The decisions we make, what about what we’re doing in midlife, makes a huge difference in how we’re going to live the rest of our lives.”

A dedicated team of patient navigators will serve as guides to offer support, information, and advocacy.

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Kim Litten is not only a patient coordinator but living proof that the center will save lives.

“My body was just at a lack of hormones and that’s why this condition came around so yeah, I definitely think so.”

For more information, click here: clevelandclinic.org/caringforwomen

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