NEW ORLEANS — Today, Ochsner Health System and the Brees Dream Foundation announced a partnership to raise funds for the Women’s Wellness and Survivorship Center located at Ochsner Baptist. The announcement comes during National Women’s Health Week, which empowers and educates women to take control of their health.
The Women’s Wellness and Survivorship Center, which is the first of its kind in the region, provides comprehensive, coordinated care using a holistic approach for the unique healthcare needs of women, including those diagnosed with and surviving cancer. Founded by Dr. Elizabeth Lapeyre, OB/GYN at Ochsner Baptist, the Women’s Wellness and Survivorship Center was created to fill a critical gap in women’s healthcare.
“I found that my patients had questions related to far more than their annual wellness visits,” said Dr. Lapeyre. “I wanted to offer my patients long-term support that focused on their mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing as they faced health issues ranging from menopause to breast cancer. Women often put the health of their partners and children ahead of their own and the Women’s Wellness and Survivorship Center is a place to solely focus on their needs.”
“To support women across the nation, the Brees Dream Foundation is excited to announce a partnership to support the Women’s Wellness and Survivorship Center at Ochsner Baptist,” said Drew Brees. “The Center is the first of its kind for the region and will provide support, resources and education for women facing health issues. Together, we can transform the lives of the important women in our lives – mothers, sisters and daughters.”
The Brees Dream Foundation was founded in 2003 by Drew Brees, quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, and his wife Brittany. Since its founding, the organization has contributed more than $33 million to causes across the globe in support of its mission to improve the quality of life for cancer patients and provide care, education and opportunities for children and families in need.
Together, the two organizations hope to raise $2.3 million, which will support a number of initiatives for the Women’s Wellness and Survivorship Center. Funds raised will go towards the building of a permanent location at Ochsner Baptist, hiring additional healthcare providers and ongoing physician education. Patient Assistance Funds, which provide support to patients experiencing financial hardship, will also be supported through donations. The Brees Dream Foundation and Ochsner’s Leave A Legacy Employee Giving Campaign are making significant contributions to the cause, donating $500,000 and $300,000, respectively.
To support this important initiative, please click here. The campaign will include fundraising and awareness events over the next several months.
The Women’s Wellness and Survivorship Center offers a variety of services including:
- Personalized menopausal and peri-menopausal management
- Genetic cancer screening and testing
- Cardiovascular disease risk assessment
- Sexual dysfunction treatment
- Bone health management
- Referrals for weight loss, stress reduction and pelvic floor physical therapy to address incontinence and sexual health issues
Survivorship is an important and growing area of cancer care. A survivor is defined as someone who is living with, through, and beyond cancer. Cancer and cancer treatment affect relationships, body image, sexuality, intimacy, fertility, psychosocial health and more. Many of these issues are the core of a woman’s self-image and understanding of who she is as a woman and how she functions. The Center offers a survivorship program that helps women in need of specialized gynecologic care related to their cancer diagnosis or treatment. These may be young women who want to discuss preserving their fertility, women who find themselves unable to maintain intimacy with their partners, and women facing abrupt, premature menopause as a result of cancer treatments.
In addition, the Center offers care for women who may be years beyond their active cancer treatment and are eager to move into the next stage of their lives as healthy women. These patients seek trusted care that supports their physical and emotional wellness as well as their personal relationships and sexual health. While the center has focused initially on cancer survivorship, the audience is already growing to include women who are seeking balance and wellness after other life-changing health events such as heart attacks or major surgery.
