New York City Clinical Center
of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
INSIDE WHI: Woman to Woman
A WORD FROM OUR
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
You all know that the WHI will provide answers
to the critical questions about the risk factors
for, and the prevention of, heart disease,
breast and colorectal cancer, and osteoporosis. These
answers will come from the hormone replacement trial,
the dietary modification trial, the calcium/vitamin D
supplementation study, and the observational study. As a
participant in WHI, you may be in one or several of these
components (if
you are not sure which, call us).
But many of you may not know that we also
have a number of related studies which address other
problems that post-menopausal women may have. These
are called ancillary studies to the WHI. For example, at
the New York Center we currently have the WHIMS (WHIMemory Study) which is looking to see if hormone
replacement prevents Alzheimer's disease. WHIMS
participants are women over age 65 who are in the
hormone replacement part of WHI. Enrollment is closed
now, but many of you are participating in that ancillary
study. Another ancillary study is WHISCA - the WHI Study
of Cognitive Aging. This study is trying to determine
whether hormone replacement therapy affects NORMAL
declines in memory and cognitive aspects. WHISCA is
open to all women who are enrolled in WHIMS. We have
just started enrolling participants in WHISCA so please
call Jennifer Grennan to set up an appointment.
Generally, you can enroll when you come for your regular
WHI annual or semi-annual visit, but it will take an
additional hour or two of your time.
For women in the Observational Study, we also
have a very interesting ancillary study called MIMS Myocardial Ischemia and Migraine Study. This study
requires that you wear a Holter monitor for 24 hours
which is really an ambulatory electrocardiogram device.
The objective is to see whether headaches are related to
what we call "silent ischemia," which means certain
abnormalities in the flow of blood to the heart which
may have no
outward symptoms. This study is still open, so if you are
a member of the observational study, be sure to call
Adelyn Alvarez or Ileana Valle to set up an appointment.
If you are coming for your 3 year visit to WHI, you can
enroll at that time.
Another study which we are about to begin is a
study related to eyesight. We will be telling you about it
soon.
So you see, WHI and its associate studies, will
tell us how we can prevent many diseases and conditions
which are a problem to older women and you can be very
proud that you are "part of the answer."
Sylvia Smoller, Ph.D., F.A.C.E.
On a Personal Note…
I During the coming year we have several
seminars and lectures planned, that I would like to invite
you to participate in. I hope that most of you have
already attended our study update on “the Women’s
Health Initiative and Women’s Health” and our seminar
on “Elder Law.” More lectures are planned for the rest of
the year for the different components of the WHI study
and we hope to see each of you at the lecture or event
of your choice. There will be different events taking
place in the Bronx, in Westchester and in Manhattan at
Beth Israel. If you would like to hear about or share
information about a specific topic, please let the staff at
your site know or give me a call at 718-931-1010. I would
love to hear from you.
Thank you for your continued dedication to this
important project. Warmest regards,
Yvonne Raiford, Project Director
ASK MIMI
Inside WHI: Woman to Woman
Q.
What is the importance of the Medical
Release Form?
A.
At every visit, we ask our participants to fill
out and sign a Medical Release Form. It is hard to
over-emphasize the importance of having an active,
signed Release Form in your chart. In case you have a
medical event, it is important that we are able to
obtain your medical records from the doctor or
hospital that treated you. Medical providers require
proof that you have given them permission to release
these records to us, and that is why we ask you to sign
a Medical Release Form at every visit. Without it, we
cannot obtain your medical records.
It is only by examining and following what
happens to each of you individually that we will get
the greater picture of women’s health. When looked
at collectively, your irreplaceable participation in the
Women’s Health Initiative will provide this
information. Also, knowing what is happening to you
permits us to monitor the safety of all women in the
study.
We are, as always, happy to answer your
questions about this and any other things relating to
your participation in WHI.
Mimi Goodwin, Clinic Manager
MEET OUR STAFF
Hi! My name is
Jeanne Kenney. I
am
the
Clinical
Coordinator for the
Beth Israel Site in
Manhattan and I’d
like to take the time
to say to all of you
Congratulations on
being “Part of The
Answer” as well as for contributing to the
recommendations for health care for women for the
next Millennium!
Being one of four daughters, raised as an
Army Brat, I learned to adapt to change and to expect
the very best from women in all aspects of life - as
observers, as participants and as teachers - early on in
life. After college, I worked in Italy and France for six
years in business
and
education.
Curious about
medicine
and
health,
I
returned
to
college for a
Degree
in
Nursing, after
the birth of my daughter, who graduated from
university this year.
In the interviews we share, I am fascinated to
hear how you deal with good and ill health from a
uniquely feminine perspective. Being brought up in a
large family of women, I’d like to think my listening
skills are pretty good. Your questions are always
interesting. I’ll be looking forward to our visits over
the next years, knowing your contributions will
benefit our generation as well as that of our daughters
and granddaughters. See you in the next millennium,
ladies.
Jeanne B. Kenney, BSN, Clinical Coordinator
Hi! My name is Myrta Lopez and I have been with WHI
in the Bronx from the very beginning. As a Medical
Technician, for the
past year I have also
worked at our Beth
Israel clinic located
in Manhattan.
I
am
a
mother
of
four
loving adults and a
grandmother
of
seven children. The
most
recent
addition is my lovely
granddaughter, Jessica Jade (now 6 months old),
whose big brother Christopher is 6 years old and a
computer wizard who often teaches me things. I enjoy
cooking, reading, and listening to Latin music. My coworkers beg for my flan, which I try to make for them
every Christmas. I adore cats and just adopted a 5
month old kitten (a gray and beige calico) that needed
a loving home. Her name is Buttons. She is simply
beautiful!
Being part of the WHI team has been a
wonderful experience for me. My job as a Medical
Technician brings me in close contact with our
participants, many of whom bring their own life
experiences to share with me. I thank WHI for this
opportunity and for letting me be ‘Part of the Answer.
Myrta Lopez, Medical Technician