Women find hope at New Albany menopause clinic
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Mood swings, sleepless nights, uncontrollable crying — Nancy Thompson was in a dark place, until a local physician "turned the lights back on."
Driving the news: OhioHealth's new Menopause and Midlife Clinic recently opened in New Albany, a first for Central Ohio.
Why it matters: The specialized office is addressing a treatment gap preventing millions of women like Thompson from getting the care they need.
The big picture: Menopause is something every woman goes through, but doctors aren't required to learn much about it and research is underfunded.
- Experiences can be so severe and varied that some women, including Oprah, feel like they're dying. But symptoms are often dismissed and misdiagnosed.
- Only about 7% of OB-GYN residents reported feeling adequately prepared to manage menopause, per a 2019 survey published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
By the numbers: As of Jan. 30, just 106 health care providers in Ohio were credentialed as Menopause Society Certified Practitioners, per data provided to Axios.
- That's compared to well over 1,500 OB-GYN providers.
Zoom in: One certified practitioner is Pragna Patel, the new OhioHealth clinic's first and only physician.
- There's such high demand that she's scheduling new patient consultations into September, though a cancellation list may get some women in sooner.
- OhioHealth is working to add more providers, and a second clinic is planned for the new Women's Center opening in 2027 on Riverside Hospital's campus, spokesperson Stephanie Stanavich tells Axios.
What they're saying: "Women in midlife have really been overlooked, so a lot of women are coming in here very excited, very eager, very grateful," Patel says.
Between the lines: Misinformation about the risks of hormone therapy, even among providers, has also kept the once-common treatment out of reach for many patients in recent years.
Reality check: For Thompson, it's been life-changing after struggling for years with symptoms ranging from heart palpitations to hair loss and brain fog at work.
- After her primary doctor mentioned the clinic, she drove 90 minutes from her home in Northeast Ohio for her first appointment and received a prescription.
The bottom line: "I have her number saved in my phone as 'Dr. Patel, lifesaver,'" Thompson tells Axios. "I have my life back."