Two local nonprofits are able to do more for women’s health each year thanks to the Karene O’Hare / Bitsy Whitten Ovarian Cancer Memorial Fund at the Williamsburg Community Foundation.
The fund awards annual grants to Olde Towne Medical and Dental Center (OTMDC) and Lackey Clinic to support women’s health services, including diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer. This spring, $14,250 in grants were awarded to the two organizations, and these grants are already expanding access to care.
At OTMDC, the focus has been on increasing patient flow and providing more screenings. With additional oncology specialists and the addition of Certified Nurse Midwife Victoria Buchanan, OTMDC is reaching more patients, more effectively. A year ago, the clinic was able to see 8–10 patients per week. Today, that number has more than doubled to 18–22 patients each week.
Ms. Buchanan, who is fluent in Spanish, has been key to that growth by reducing barriers for patients in a community where, as Executive Director Aaron Thompson shared, 85% of female patients are Latino.
At Lackey Clinic, grant funding supports an OB/GYN nurse practitioner dedicated exclusively to women’s health appointments, ensuring more patients can be seen and cared for in a timely way.
The O’Hare Fund was established by John O’Hare in memory of his wife Karene. Its impact is fueled by the fund’s growth, thanks to prudent investment by WCF, and by the annual Hare and Tortoise Ovarian Cancer Memorial Run/Walk.
Nick Luccketti, who organizes the annual race to support the fund and whose wife Bitsy Whitten lost her battle with ovarian cancer in 2013, and Jenn Daley of WCF recently presented the grants to Aaron Thompson, Executive Director of OTMDC and Larry Trumbore, CEO and Kim Spencer, Director of Resource Development at Lackey Clinic.