Summer Newsletter

Summer brings warm sunshine and hopefully time to spend with friends. SWHA has lots of new friends. This has been a year of transition for SWHA. For us change has brought great things. We have welcomed a few new members to the SWHA family. Amanda Preston Araújo, a nurse practitioner , a Durango native and graduate of CU, started last October. She is taking new patients.

In February Pamela, a back office nurse, joined us. She is a long time Durango resident. Pam enjoys international medical missions and has lots of experience in women's health. If you're in for a visit, you are likely to see the smiling face of Karin Martin. She has joined us recently and is working at the front desk with Chrisie and Jennifer.

Our newest family member is Trish, another back office nurse, she is a native to the area. Trish has worked for several years in women's health. Speaking of new family members, if you've been in the office recently you may have noticed that our staff is growing in other ways. Stacy and Jennifer will be welcoming tiny babies late this summer.

At the end of February Stacy and Pam, our two back office nurses went to a conference on Women's Health at the University of New Mexico. They were able to hear from lots of great speakers on what is new and best in women's health.

Karen Zink and Amanda Preston Araújo went to Albuquerque for the Mayo Clinic's Menopause Conference. Both of them attended the conference last spring and learned a lot about treating menopausal symptoms. It was especially informative after so much misinformation from the Women's Health Initiative Study.

If you have been suffering through menopause symptoms, come see Karen or Amanda and find out what they learned. Speaking of menopausal symptom treatment, Karen and Amanda also went to a conference last summer to learn about using hormone pellets for symptoms relief. Hormone pellets are an alternative to other hormone delivery methods, such as pills or patches. Benefits include constant hormone levels over about three months without having to take a pill or change a patch, very convenient!

Debbie continues to serve on the Women's Health Coalition of Southwest Colorado. In addition to assisting with planning this year's Pink Ribbon Affair (a fundraiser and celebration of breast cancer survivors), Debbie has been developing their new brochure. She also reviews applications for emergency non-medical expense funding now available through the Coalition for qualifying individuals in treatment for breast or reproductive cancer which has now been expanded to include men. For more information contact BJ Boucher at 970-259-3527 or bjboucher@cancer.org or Debbie Meyers at our clinic. Come in and meet Debbie, she is taking new patients.

Karen, Debbie, and Amanda are all leaving soon for the Keystone Conference in Keystone, CO. This is a conference for nurse practitioners where there will be ample opportunity for learning not only new information, but new skills. Debbie and Karen have attended this conference several times in the past and it has always been a great experience. We love getting away to the conferences, but it is really all about YOU, come see what we have learned, and how we can help you!


Updated 7/1/08

575 Rivergate Lane, Suite 210, Durango, CO 81301, 970-247-0042