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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Bryan Lentz |
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Lentz introducing legislation to improve women’s health care
HARRISBURG, Jan. 29 - State Rep. Bryan R. Lentz, D-Delaware, announced today that he has introduced legislation (H.B. 2115) that would create a state Office of Women’s Health.
Lentz said the office would focus on increasing preventative health care and healthy lifestyles for women through forums, educational programs and other initiatives. He was joined for the announcement by state Sen. Connie Williams, D-Delaware, who has introduced similar language in the Senate. Williams urged support for Lentz’s House proposal.
“Women make up more than 50 percent of Pennsylvania’s population," Lentz said. "They have unique health-care needs and concerns, and studies clearly indicate they are more susceptible to certain diseases. My legislation would create a state-level resource for women to turn to when they have questions about their health and well-being, an office that could educate women on how to improve and protect their health."
Lentz said the office would act as a clearinghouse for information regarding women’s health data, strategies, services and programs across a range of issues, including disease, menopause, mental health, pregnancy and reproductive health, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual assault and domestic violence, and teen pregnancy.
This legislation would require the Office of Women’s Health to coordinate its activities and programs with other agencies and organizations that focus on women’s health and women’s issues, including the Pennsylvania Commission for Women.
Lentz said one in five women has some form of cardiovascular disease; one in two women experiences osteoporosis-related fractures in her lifetime; women are three times more likely than men to develop rheumatoid arthritis; women are two to three times more likely than men to suffer from depression; and women receive fewer referrals for diagnostic tests and are treated less frequently for heart disease than men.
He added that in a recent survey of voters, almost 80 percent of women and 60 percent of men said they favored a women’s health-care platform focused on improving health-care delivery, research and education for women.
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