The 17th annual National Women’s Health Week kicked off on Mother’s Day, May 8. It is celebrated through May 14, 2016. National Women’s Health Week is an observance led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health, with the goal of empowering women to make their health a priority.
“This week, we recommit to ensuring equal access to high-quality care for women and to building a more prosperous, healthy future,” declared President Barack Obama. “Ensuring women can live full and healthy lives is vital, and central to that mission is improving the quality, affordability, and accessibility of health care for women.? Because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), insurance companies can no longer charge women more than men or use pre-existing conditions — including pregnancy — to deny them the care they need.”
National Women’s Health Week highlights health issues that concern women as well as to encourage better health care practices. There are still major health concerns for women, according to data from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the biggest killer of women in the nation is heart disease. Mental health and breast cancer are also major concerns.
“All too often health issues of women are, overlooked or dismissed. And far too often women themselves put their health on the back-burner in order to care for others in the family,” states multicultural healthcare marketing expert Sheila Thorne, CEO and founder of Multicultural Healthcare Marketing Group, LLC. “During this week the focus is on empowering women to take charge and control of their health.”
