Women in History & Today – Creating a Healthier Future
Women in History & Today – Creating a Healthier Future
Did you know that before 1993 women were rarely included in clinical trials? It literally took an Act of Congress to require the inclusion of women in clinical research. We’ve come a long way since then, but a Harvard Medical School Study found that as of 2019 women were still substantially underrepresented in clinical trials for leading diseases.
Consider this information from a 2024 Association of American Medical Colleges article: “Failure to study medications and other interventions in a broad sampling of women has contributed to women experiencing adverse effects from medications at twice the rate of men.”
Women’s History Month gives us the opportunity to consider the impact of women in healthcare who have gone before us. Women’s History Month also prompts us to consider women in leadership today and where we still need action to prevent the disparities in research and understanding that continue to lead to adverse health outcomes for women.
Rx Partnership’s mission is to increase access to medication, and we serve patients by providing those brand and generic medications that have been brought to market to treat a variety of chronic conditions. While we don’t currently have a strategy or means of influencing the pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs to successfully treat women and reduce adverse effects, we can encourage discussion and advocate for women to be included in the future.
Rx Partnership has had several recent opportunities to connect with and celebrate outstanding women who helped us get where we are today and women who will help lead us into a better future:
RxP hosted a March 6 event to highlight this exhibit featuring men and women who have made a profound impact on pharmacy and the health professions. Pat Richards-Spruill, RPh is a former RxP Board Member and current member of the Virginia Board of Pharmacy highlighted in the exhibit. Curator Elvatrice Belsches has a special talent for shining a light on Pat and other key individuals. With a background in medical education, pharmacy and medical humanities, combined with her knowledge and recall of the detailed stories of the individuals featured in the Exhibit, she is a public historian dedicated to celebrating the contributions of Black individuals in the health professions.
- Trailblazing Women in Healthcare
RxP recently interviewed Nadine Marsh-Carter, the President of the Cameron Foundation, to learn about inspiring women in her family. Dr. Diane Harris Marsh was Nadine’s mother and a well-respected dentist from 1961 to 1997. Dr. Jean L. Harris was Nadine’s aunt and the first African American student to graduate from the Medical College of Virginia (now VCU) in 1955. Both her mother and aunt faced sexism and racism in their education and careers but were models for her as she pursued a successful career as an attorney, then later the Executive Director of Volunteer Families, then the CEO of the Children’s Home Society of Virginia before assuming her current role at the Cameron Foundation. Our conversation with Nadine also provided an opportunity to get her perspective on more than just her relatives, who she agrees were “all about service” and “creating the opportunity for equal access.” When asked if there is currently enough being done to promote health equity, she responded, “there’s so much more to do because there’s so many disparities.” She stressed that there’s always more we can do, and it’s important to create win/win situations.
- Women in Action
CrossOver Healthcare Ministry’s recent “Spring into Action: Celebrating Women in Action!” event featured a keynote from Judy Collins, RN, WHNP, who retired from a 30-year nursing career in 2000, helped create and co-direct the VCU School of Nursing OB-GYN nurse practitioner program and has been volunteering at CrossOver for many years. She shared that she has “observed a lot of changes” in women’s healthcare and finds herself “inspired by these patients – their strength and their journey.” The more than 300 women in the audience were definitely inspired!
- Women Leaders – Past and Current – at Rx Partnership
Another leader creating positive change in Virginia, Deborah D. Oswalt was one of Rx Partnership’s founding Board Members and served as the first Executive Director of the Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF). Debbie will be retiring March 31, 2025, after 32 years at the helm of VHCF. Thanks in large part to Debbie’s vision and perseverance, Rx Partnership recently celebrated our 20th Anniversary and has provided over 1 million prescriptions to patients in need. Special thanks to all the talented and impressive women who have served, and currently serve, on the Rx Partnership Board of Directors. In the words of another former RxP Board Member, Jeannie Nelson, the longtime Executive Director of the Northern Neck-Middlesex Free Health Clinic, it’s important for women today to exemplify the three B’s – now more than ever – “Be Blunt, Bold & Brave!”
While March is a time to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of women to history, culture, and society, the “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations” theme identified for 2025 by the National Women’s History Alliance, needs to be embraced year-round and backed-up with action in the form of dedicated investment in research, treatment options and support for women leaders making positive change.
Who are the women in your life making a difference? Leave a comment about someone who has inspired you!