On June 25, 2019, Mayo Clinic announced its upcoming grant from The George Family Foundation to fund the all-new Center for Women’s Health. The center aims to combat some of the problems women face in receiving adequate healthcare, offering tailored health services for women of all ages.
Penny George, board chair of the George Family Foundation, accomplished psychologist, and renowned philanthropist, has spent her career championing reform for women’s healthcare.
“Our gift represents a significant investment in shifting the ways women interact with health care at Mayo Clinic, one of the premier health care institutions in the U.S.,” she says. “Mayo Clinic has long been known for its Executive Health Program. This program will mirror the success of that approach but take it a step further. The focus will be not only on women, but also on integrative health and healing practices that will go hand in hand with traditional medicine – an approach we’ve been advancing through our work over the past two decades.”
Bill George is an accomplished businessman and business leader, serving as a board member and executive leadership for a wide range of top companies. Today, he is a senior fellow at the Harvard Business School and serves as a board member at Mayo Clinic.
“It’s our hope that the Center for Women’s Health inspires other philanthropists to join in the mission to transform health care for women, ensuring its continued success and elevating women’s health as a priority at Mayo Clinic,” he says.
Stephanie Faubion, M.D., will serve as the Bill and Penny George Director at the Center for Women’s Health. “This transformative philanthropic gift from Bill and Penny George, and the George Family Foundation, will personalize the health care experience of women,” she says. “The Center for Women’s Health will lead by example to set a new national standard for women’s health care, providing personalized care that considers women as partners in their health care.”
The Center is the latest chapter in Bill and Penny George’s commitment to transforming healthcare in Minnesota and the United States.
In 2003, in partnership with Allina Health and the Ted and Roberta Mann Foundation, the George Family Foundation co-founded the Institute for Health and Healing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minnesota. The Institute focuses on holistic healthcare that treats a person as a whole, not just their symptoms, and is the largest hospital-based integrative medicine program in the United States.
To honor Penny’s career and her successful battle with breast cancer, the Institute changed its name in 2008 to the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing. Today, the organization serves patients in 14 locations across Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.
The couple also created a multi-year integrative health program as a new wing of their Foundation in 2014. The Catalyst Initiative‘s mission is to improve healthcare through a commitment to self-care, education, and Western medicine.
Catalyst is another significant example of the George family’s commitment to the holistic medical practices that form the cornerstone of the Center for Women’s Health.
Appointments at the Center will not just treat illnesses and symptoms, but will also seek to educate female patients about their bodies and their ability to improve their well-being at home. The Center will also be a home for research programs that investigate the links between sex, gender, and health.
“The center’s goal is to become a destination for women’s health care,” adds Stephanie Faubion. “Patients are not only treated for a specific condition, but also empowered with the tools and knowledge they need to improve their overall health and wellness: mind, body and spirit.”
“We are truly grateful to Penny, Bill and the George family for their friendship and incredible generosity,” says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic. “The Center for Women’s Health furthers their visionary work to support lifelong, holistic care for women, and we are honored to partner with them to accomplish this goal.”
To learn more about the Center for Women’s Health, read the press release from Mayo Clinic and the George Family Foundation.
To learn more about the George Family Foundation and its healthcare initiatives, visit their website at www.georgefamilyfoundation.org.
To hear more recent updates from the world of women’s healthcare, read about Rhode Island’s Reproductive Privacy Act, the campaign against gender disparities in Parkinson’s research, and two organizations’ reaffirmed commitment to maternal health around the world.
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