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November 1 , 2004

Contact: Linda Allen
HHS' Office on Women's Health
(202) 205-2551

HHS Awards $2.86M for Transformation of the
National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health Program (CoE)

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced $2.86M in awards for transformation of the National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health (CoE). The CoE’s are model academic health centers that provide integrated and comprehensive women's health services across the United States.

"This transformation enhances our efforts to ensure innovative solutions for women seeking the best comprehensive care," Secretary Thompson said. "It is part of our continuing commitment to bring quality health care to women, including minority and underserved women across the nation.”

These new centers, along with the existing centers, will help to develop effective approaches for improving women's health that can be adopted in communities throughout America."

Building on the successful model of integrating the five core components of clinical care, research, medical education, community outreach and faculty development, HHS will provide approximately $150,000 each to three new CoEs at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and West Virginia University Health Sciences Center.

These new CoEs, along with six selected in FY2003, are transforming the program into one that increases emphasis on leadership; preventive programs in heart disease, diabetes/obesity, cancer, and HIV/AIDs; collaboration with other allied health schools, American Indian populations and rural areas.

Another $125,000 each for two new CoE Region VIII Demonstration Project(s) to develop a new rural framework for the CoE program at the University of South Dakota and the University of North Dakota. This new program strengthens the reach of the CoE program across the Nation, especially into rural frontier areas.

Another $150,000 each to two new National Community Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health (CCOE), the community based sister program of the CoEs. These new CCOEs, Oakhurst Medical Centers, Inc., in Stone Mountain, GA., and Great Plains for Greeley County in Tribune, KS, will also provide increased emphasis in rural areas. These new centers will join the 12 existing National Community Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health, a network of community health centers, hospitals, Area Health Education Centers, and clinics that provide comprehensive, preventive care for underserved women of all races across their life span. The Centers also replicate their CCOE models in other communities and organizations.

Evaluations of the existing Centers of Excellence in Women's Health programs have found that the comprehensive, integrated approach to care strengthens the focus on women's health at academic medical centers and at community-based organizations. The centers also increased the number of women with a usual source of care and the evaluation showed a greater compliance with treatment regimes at the community centers. In addition, the centers provide a wide array of clinical, preventive services and produce high levels of patient satisfaction and loyalty.

Since 2002, the CoEs and CCOEs have been working collaboratively on community outreach projects, and are currently working together to develop provider education materials for the professional education component of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Heart Truth Campaign/Red Dress Project. Collaborative groups are being formed now to disseminate these materials. Additionally, the CoEs and CCOEs will soon be developing collaborative projects focused on enhancing their leadership components.

More information on the National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health is available at http://www.womenshealth.gov/coe and http://www.womenshealth.gov/owh/ccoe

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
Last Revised: November 2004