FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 1998
Contact: Office on Women’s Health
(202) 690-7650

"NATIONAL WOMEN'S HEALTH INFORMATION CENTER" WEB SITE AND HOTLINE LAUNCHED BY THE U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

The U.S. Public Health Service today is launching the National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC), a combination World Wide Web site and toll-free hotline that serves as a "one-stop shopping" resource for women's health information. NWHIC can be reached at www.womenshealth.gov or 1-800-994-WOMAN.

"This information center represents the federal government's most comprehensive resource for women's health," said HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala. "With a few strokes on a computer keyboard, or a toll-free call, women and their health care providers can open the door to a world of important medical information resources."

The web site (www.womenshealth.gov) links to all federal agencies and publications on women's health, and to hundreds of government-screened private sector organizations. NWHIC also provides FAQs (frequently asked questions) on top health issues of concern to American women. The toll-free number (1-800-994-WOMAN) connects the caller to a health information specialist who will refer the caller to the right source of information. Women and their health care providers can also order fact sheets, brochures and other printed materials by phone.

"This new service represents the fastest and easiest way to locate important information on women's health," said David Satcher, M.D., Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services. "Because the service is available through the internet or via a toll-free number, women in every corner of America will now have access to accurate and timely health information."

Dr. Satcher formally announces the launch today at the American Public Health Association Annual Convention in Washington, D.C.

"Women today are inundated with health information from a variety of media sources," said Wanda Jones, Dr.P.H., Director of the Office on Women's Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, which sponsors and maintains the Information Center. "It is comforting to know that there is now one reliable place to go for information that can be trusted."

NWHIC hyperlinks to more than 1,000 web sites, including more than 300 federal sites, and to more than 2,700 federal documents on women's health, 1,800 of which are already online. It organizes resources in a subject index to facilitate searches, links to databases and web search engines by topic and agency, and offers graphical and text versions to accommodate all users. Information specialists are available on its toll-free telephone service from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time Zone).

Other web sites sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services include healthfinder (www.healthfinder.gov), a gateway health site for men, women and children, and medicare.gov, for answers to questions about Medicare. NWHIC is the only combined comprehensive health web site and hotline service offered by the federal health agencies. It is designed to provide information on how women are uniquely affected by health concerns that threaten the general population, as well as on health issues that are exclusive to women.

The Office on Women's Health in the Department of Health and Human Services provides national leadership in advancing women's health. It acts as a catalyst for new national and regional initiatives to improve women's health, including support for 18 Centers of Excellence in Women's Health that serve as models for integrated and comprehensive women's health care services and research.

HHS press releases are available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.hhs.gov.