Introducing Santa Barbara Women’s Health Coalition

Local breast surgeon, lactation consultant, and perinatal mental health provider, Dr. Katrina Mitchell, formed Santa Barbara Women’s Health Coalition after receiving tremendous support from her op-ed calling for improvements in local women’s healthcare. The objective of the Women’s Health Coalition (WHC) is to create a public forum for focused dialogue and research on local women’s healthcare needs. The inaugural meeting will take place on Saturday, October 15 at 4pm at Foster Fitness and Physical Therapy. To RSVP, email sbwhc2022@gmail.com.

Setting the stage for a conversation that is inviting to all, Dr. Mitchell identified a non-healthcare affiliated facilitator to lead the discussion, Kathy Kelley, Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Montessori Center School. The goal of the October 15 meeting is to arrive at a shared understanding of why women’s health is important to our community, and why this initiative is more important than ever.

Many topics fall under women’s health, and the WHC plans to steadily dig into the strengths and weakness of local women’s healthcare delivery in areas including adolescence, mental health for teens/college age, maternal health, menopause, LGBTQ+ health, and care for chronic conditions. “Our goal is to fact find and really evaluate what women are experiencing here so that we can identify what works and what gaps exist,” said Dr. Mitchell. The WHC plans to present their community needs assessment findings to local healthcare leaders with hopes of garnering support and resources to make effective change.

Healthcare can be very personal, and the WHC will honor varying perspectives and emotions tied to every experience. “We want this forum to be a place where we can share our experiences, listen, and validate concerns. We aim to facilitate productive and fact-based conversation, and bring women of all professional and personal backgrounds together in community. This will be critical to creating meaningful change in our region,” said Dr. Mitchell.
_________________________________________

Dr. Mitchell formed the Women’s Health Coalition as a personal project, not in representation of  the organizations with which she is affiliated.