Founded in 2000, Womankind offers free or low-cost
gynecological and primary care to about 2,000 women a year. A 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization
funded by grants and individual donations, this unique, wonderful center was
founded by two compassionate nurse midwives who saw the and envisioned a place where women took care of
women. The very opposite of a
stereotypical clinic for poor women,
Womankind offers prompt attention and compassionate, high quality care to rich
and poor alike. Every woman who calls
for an appointment is seen within days and rarely sits in the waiting room for
more than 15 minutes. She spends 20 minutes or more with a provider who listens
attentively and relates to her holistically, stressing education and prevention
and addressing all the physical, emotional and social factors that affect her
health.
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| Nurse Practitioner Carolyn Daly (R) & Angelica Valdez, Hispanic Teen Outreach Coordinator/Front Desk |
“I love that I can walk into the waiting room . . . and see
one of our wealthiest donors waiting for her appointment while a hotel cleaning
woman sits across the room waiting for the same,” said Betsy Langan,
Womankind’s grant writer.
The formula is brilliant. Indigent women receive care for
free. Low-income women receive care based
on a sliding scale. Women of means, who are drawn by the high quality care and
warm atmosphere, pay full (though comparatively low) fare, which helps to subsidize
the care of those less affluent. Care is also subsidized by government and community
grants, individual donations, and special events. As the proportion of low-income patients
increased with the recent recession, Womankind introduced revenue raising
services – spa treatments, weight loss seminars (scholarships available), and
bioidentical hormone replacement -- to offset the growing imbalance of haves
and have-nots. To further lower cost, care is provided by nurse practitioners
under the supervision of a physician. At the same time, Womankind offers free
workshops on smoking cessation, stress reduction, cancer and heart disease
prevention, and financial health to the entire community. And they reach out
into the community providing sex education in the middle and high schools and
free screenings in some of the poorest sections of town. The net result is a center warmly embraced
and strongly supported by the Key West community. 
As a result of broad based support, Womankind moved into a
bright and spacious new home last year.
The space boasts a very Key West waiting room, where party lights ring
the ceiling and a large bowl of free condoms sits atop a cobalt blue administrator’s
desk; a cozy, comfortable,
extra-sound-proofed room for mental
health counseling; a spa room; and exam rooms each warmed by natural light. While this attractive center is valuable to
the entire community, it is most precious to those of limited means.
Fifty-five-year-old Danita Valdez is a case in point. Between Danita, who works part time as a
house cleaner, and her husband, who is disabled, the couple brings in about
$500 a month, $142 of which covers the rent on their subsidized apartment. Her annual tests at Womankind -- blood tests,
pap smear and occult blood check – usually cost $75-80. This year, however, that care was free.
“Evidently they had a little more money to balance with this
time,” speculated Danita, who donates $20 or $25 to Womankind whenever she can
spare the funds.
Like other patients, Danita especially likes the
way her care is managed. When she
developed recurring respiratory infections, Womankind ordered numerous tests,
some of which needed to be done at the hospital.
Womankind kept track, followed up and called Danita with results.
Kristine Dion, age 34, also sings praises. With a household of six and an annual income
of $40,000 she could not afford medical care.
“They were amazing,” said Kristine, who was pleasantly surprised when she was treated with kindness and patience even though she qualified for reduced fees. She is especially grateful for receiving a
mammogram when a lump was discovered in her breast.
“They just took care of me very, very well,” she said.
With federal Title X family planning funds, Womankind provides
basic gynecological care -- breast and
pelvic exams, Pap smears and other cancer screenings, HIV testing, pregnancy
testing and counseling, and affordable contraceptives -- for free to all
girls under age 18 and to women living at or below poverty level and on
a sliding scale for women of low or moderate income.
TEST
|
OUR PRICE
|
Typical Price
Elsewhere |
Pap Smear
|
$79
|
$75
|
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
|
$14
|
$38-60
|
Complete Metabolic Panel (CMP)
|
$19
|
$46-120
|
Thyroid Panel (T3,T4, &TSH)
|
$50
|
$240-280
|
Urine Culture
|
$24
|
$64-98
|
CA 125 (Ovarian cancer screen)
|
$30
|
$60-250
|
Lipid (cholesterol) panel
|
$24
|
$97
|
Pregnancy test (urine)
|
$12
|
$76
|
MEDICATION
|
OUR PRICE*
|
Typical Price
Elsewhere |
Ortho TriCyclen Or Lo
|
$18
|
$45
|
Depo Provera
|
$53
|
$56
|
Valtrex (30 tabs)
|
$101
|
$366
|
Next Choice
|
$22
|
$31
|
With funding from the women’s advocacy organization Zonta, Womankind subsidizes mammograms. Womankind also offers primary and mental health care at flat but reduced rates. The nurse practitioners treat minor illnesses like colds and urinary tract infections and manage easily controlled chronic diseases. When disease diagnosis or the management of diabetes, thyroid problems and the like exceeds the nurse practitioners’ abilities, Womankind has funding to subsidize referrals to more sophisticated primary care or specialists. Thanks to partnerships that Womankind has established, additional help comes from the local hospital and some specialists, who provide care to Womankind patients at significantly reduced rates. What’s more, between medications offered in Womankind’s own pharmacy, medications provided by Publix supermarkets for free (to anyone, no questions asked), and prescription assistance programs to which Womankind helps patients apply, patients can affordably obtain many of the medications they need.
Still, the staff recognizes an unmet need that they are seeking to fill: although Title X subsidizes gynecological care for indigent and low-income women, there is no comparable funding for primary care. And while Womankind offers primary care at below market rates, there are many women in the community who cannot afford even these. So the staff is investigating how they can parlay some of their grant money into subsidies for primary care.
Protecting the reproductive health of young girls is one of Womankind’s principal concerns. Early on, the founding midwives discovered that the girls didn’t know how to protect themselves.
“STD rates were going through the roof,” said Kim Romano,
executive director. “The girls didn’t know how they got pregnant. They didn’t know about their bodies. They weren’t even having pleasure having
sex.”
Today, Womankind reserves Thursday afternoons for teens,
when the nurse practitioners can give them extra time and the girls can come in
without having to worry about running into their moms’ best friends. When rumors spread in the community that
only bad girls came to Womankind, Kim built a teen advisory board to find out
what the kids were thinking and what would make them feel comfortable. That teen advisory board morphed into a
survey posted on Facebook; a drawing for an iPad served as an incentive to fill
it out. Based on the results of the
survey, Womankind will hold several “Pizza Presentations” during the school
year to discuss birth control, body image, relationships and other concerns the
survey highlighted.
One 17-year-old spoke
for many in a testimonial of appreciation she gave to Womankind. The daughter
of two lesbian mothers who sought care for her when she became sexually active,
she received contraception, contraceptive counseling, medical care and mental
health counseling at Womankind. After
graduating from high school, she spoke about how Womankind helped her deal with
the social pressures she felt as an attractive heterosexual girl. Thanks to Womankind, she went off to college
a strong, self-confident young woman.
As a result of its attention to adolescent reproductive
health, 100% of Womankind’s teens tested negative for HIV in 2011, compared to
Monroe County as a whole, where 50% of new female HIV diagnoses were in women
under age 29. Moreover, Womankind
reduced the number of teens testing positive for reportable sexually
transmitted infections by 64% between 2010 and 2011. And Womankind’s teen
pregnancy rate is consistently lower than that of the state and the nation
overall.
Separately, Womankind has improved the health of the community
by giving care to women who would otherwise not get it. Typically, people without access to regular healthcare care rely on the emergency room for
treatment of everyday illnesses. This practice raises the cost of routine
treatments and strains the emergency room’s ability to care for people with real medical
crises. In addition, people without access to regular
healthcare are typically sicker and incur costlier care when they do
obtain treatment. Womankind interrupts
this pattern by keeping routine problems out of the emergency room, preventing
serious illness, and diagnosing disease at an incipient stage, when cost is lower and prognosis better. Womankind
diagnosed five cases of early breast cancer in 2011, giving a chance at life
and health to five women who might not otherwise have it.
 |
| Tracy Bradach, Medical Assistant |
Womankind boasts a staff of 12, including two nurse
practitioners, a physician’s assistant, a mental health counselor, medical
director, and auxiliary and administrative personnel. Annual budget is just
under $900,000.
Womankind1151 Truman Avenue
Key West, FL 33040
305-294-4004
www.womankindkeywest.org
