In the NewsIN THE NEWS

New health centres rely on academic expertise

University of Ottawa professors are playing a key role in two new local health centres: the Heart Health Education Centre (HHEC) and the Shirley E. Greenberg Women’s Health Centre.

The HHEC, which officially opened its doors on February 2 at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, offers programs on smoking cessation, healthy eating and physical activity, a multimedia library, a lecture series and a Web site at www.ottawaheart.ca/HHEC.

Located on the second floor of the institute on Ruskin Street, the centre is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. “We have created a drop-in site—online and physical—for those who are willing to take charge of their heart health,” says Prevention and Rehabilitation Chief Dr. Andrew Pipe.

Meanwhile, the Shirley E. Greenberg Women’s Health Centre officially opened at the Riverside Campus of The Ottawa Hospital, on January 21. Headed by University of Ottawa Professor Dr. Elaine Jolly, it is Eastern Ontario’s foremost centre specializing in the particular health needs of women throughout their reproductive, menopausal and postmenopausal years.

“We have direct links to the University to help develop health care professionals and to the Ottawa Health Research Institute to advance our understanding of women’s health issues, be they physical, psychological or social,” says Dr. Jolly.

The centre expects over 30,000 patient visits, and it has room for the anticipated growth that an aging population will bring. Services focus on three areas: mature women’s health, cancer screening and benign (non-cancerous) gynecology.