This town hall, to be held on Tuesday, March 21, from five p.m. to eight p.m. at 6201 Florida Blvd., will be the very first of nine town halls charged with raising awareness of the new OWHCH, advertising the lots of well being solutions and applications readily available to residents, and gathering women’s well being demands to inform the office’s priorities and future programming.

The town hall on March 21 in Baton Rouge will function discussions facilitated by topic matter professionals on well being problems impacting females across the lifespan, possibilities for networking, activities like yoga and meditation, and exhibitions by neighborhood and healthcare provider partners.

Members of the public can register on the web for the occasion on March 21 right here.

“This Women’s History Month, it is crucial to recognize not just how far we’ve come but also how considerably additional we have to go to advance equity in Louisiana. OWHCH is committed to advancing women’s and neighborhood health across the lifespan in our state, and that commitment begins with centering neighborhood voice,” mentioned OWHCH Assistant Secretary Torrie Harris, DrPH, MPH. “That’s why we are organizing the Listen to H.E.R. town halls across Louisiana — so that we can superior recognize and meet the demands of the communities we serve.”

“Despite progress made we have substantial function to do to assistance females in this state, such as decreasing gender disparities in well being,” mentioned State Senator Regina Barrow. “Louisiana has a single of the worst maternal mortality prices in the nation, and females are disproportionately impacted by chronic illnesses like heart disease. The scenario is even worse for Black, low-earnings and rural females. This is why I advocated for the creation of and am passionate about LDH’s new Workplace of Women’s Well being and Neighborhood Well being. LDH has extended been committed to advancing women’s well being problems and issues this new hub inside the Division will aid shine a light on these problems and pull with each other sources across the agency to advance even higher progress.”

“To make meaningful progress in decreasing well being disparities and enhancing well being outcomes for all females in Baton Rouge and all through Louisiana, we need to very first meet females exactly where they are and listen,” mentioned State Representative Denise Marcelle. “I am glad to see this is precisely what the Louisiana Division of Well being is undertaking in holding this town hall for our area — listening and gathering women’s and our communities’ well being demands and issues to shape the priorities of its new Workplace of Women’s Well being and Neighborhood Well being.”

The key purpose of OWHCH, developed for the duration of the 2022 Legislative Session, is to give an agency-wide concentrate on women’s well being outcomes by means of policy, education, proof-primarily based practices, applications and solutions. The workplace aims to be a clearinghouse, coordinating agency and resource center for women’s well being information and methods, focusing on problems such as demands all through a woman’s life chronic or acute situations access to healthcare how poverty impacts women’s well being top causes of morbidity and mortality and well being disparities.

More than the course of FY23, OWHCH will also create its very first annual report for submission to LDH leadership, legislators and Governor John Bel Edwards.

Operationalizing the Workplace of Women’s Well being and Neighborhood Well being is a single of 17 important initiatives outlined in LDH’s FY23 organization plan titled “Invest: Teaming Up for a Stronger LDH and a Healthier Louisiana.”