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If the nurses weren't wearing white coats, it would feel like you were hanging out at a friend's place. And like good friends, the people here do what they can to help.
Since 1998, A Woman's Place at Northside Hospital has had the unofficial motto of "women helping women." It is a place where health practitioners assist women with everything from handling breast-feeding issues to styling custom-fit wigs for chemotherapy patients.
It is one of few places in the United States, they say, to offer extended service for both oncology and obstetric patients in one location.
"We offer clinical expertise, product knowledge, product options and a feminine atmosphere," said Beth Allen, manager of outpatient services. "We provide comprehensive, lifetime service under one roof."
Off the lobby of the Northside Women's Center, A Woman's Place sits like a cozy cottage with a wood-framed entrance. Therapeutic scents greet you at the door and warm lighting lies softly on clothing and accessories. A staff of 12 or so feel like old friends as they smile and lead the way.
A Woman's Place was started about a decade ago by Allen, a former lactation consultant who kept hearing from her patients about the lack of women's health care in certain areas.
"I heard women talk about the separate places they had to go to find the right products and expertise after surgeries and procedures," Allen said. "They articulated a gap in health care. When they left the hospital, they didn't know where to go."
Allen came up with the idea to merge obstetrics and oncology for extended service purposes after talking to women patients. The plan was to offer one-stop services. For example, some health centers that cater to women may have carried mastectomy bras and breast prostheses for cancer patients, but they didn't carry wigs.
When the doors at A Woman's Place opened, dozens of patients, both men and women, were referred to their services.
"Despite our name, our male patients feel just as comfortable here as the women do," said Allen. "They like the TLC." The 'wig room'
Karen Martin of Sandy Springs, a mother of two girls, was diagnosed with breast cancer in June during her annual mammogram. She had a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction surgery in mid-July.
When many women are diagnosed with cancer, one of their first questions is whether they will lose their hair. Martin is no different.
Before she began chemo in mid-August, Martin, 53, was referred to A Woman's Place by the Breast Center at Northside Hospital. She wanted to learn about the side effects of her treatment and to prepare for the loss of her hair.
After her first chemo treatment and three consultations at A Woman's Place, she showed up recently to get fitted for her wig.
"This is the most traumatic part," said Martin, fingers laced in her lap as she waited in the "wig room."
"I've been fine with all the surgeries, the reconstruction, even chemo --- but this is harder. It's like a friend said: Intellectually, I understand. It's just emotionally tough."
David Hamblen, the only male employee at A Woman's Place and one of three hairstylists, met with Martin to discuss the procedure.
"We sometimes suggest that women come in before the hair loss," said assistant coordinator Donna Deeb, who has worked at A Woman's Place for 4 1/2 years. "We can take a picture of what they look like on a regular basis and work with them so the wig is done before they are hairless."
Hamblen, owner of Sky Salon in Atlanta, cut and styled a wig to resemble Martin's natural dirty blond, shoulder-length hair. Deeb and Hamblen agree that, of all the consultation rooms, the wig room is where emotions run the highest.
"Women relate their femininity to their hair," Hamblen said. "One of their biggest fears when they come in is that they won't look attractive, but most women look even more attractive without hair. At first they say 'I look like GI Jane.' Then it gets empowering."
Martin sat in a salon chair in the small room with an inviting armchair nearby and walls with a golden hue. She watched while Hamblen made the final adjustments to her wig resting on a mannequin's head. She has decided not to cut her hair off today. It has begun to thin since chemo, but she may have another week before it falls out. She is going to take the wig with her when she leaves in case it's needed over the weekend.
"My understanding is that after the second chemo treatment, it really kicks in," said Martin, with a surprising grin. "I'm just vain enough to wait a little longer to shave my head."
She runs her hand through her hair and a couple of strands break free from her scalp. Help for new moms
In another private room down the hall, Erin Long sits in a pillowy armchair with her baby stretched out across her legs. Trish Vogelgesang, a registered nurse, is observing. This is Long's second consultation with her 5-week-old daughter, Noelle.
"What I learn here has been very helpful when I go home," said Long, as Noelle, wrapped in a pink blanket, cries. "It's been a little frustrating, but rewarding at the same time."
Vogelgesang and Sandey Stayanoff, also a registered nurse, see about 25 new mothers each week.
The Lactation Center has an advice line for mothers to call with breast-feeding questions. If the phone consultant suggests it, an appointment is made for mother and baby to meet privately with a lactation consultant at A Woman's Place.
"Women sometimes receive conflicting information," said Stayanoff. "They don't know what to do and feel guilty and surprised that breast-feeding may not be simple, but each birth and baby are different."
Consultations take about two hours while the consultants observe the mother breast-feeding, discuss the history of the mother and the baby, and develop an individualized feeding plan. After consultations, mothers leave with handwritten instructions. Consultants fax notes to clients' pediatrician or obstetrician and follow up with a phone call to the moms a week or so later.
New mothers also can be fitted for bras and purchase or rent breast pumps.
"A Woman's Place is like a warm blanket," said Carolyn Cieslak of Peachtree City, diagnosed with fourth-stage lung cancer in 2004. "They just make the worst possible situation as pleasant as it can be."
Deeb has assisted Cieslak with hats and scarves and Hamblen has cut her hair to a quarter of an inch twice before.
"I will be connected to them for the rest of my life. They are just . . . how do you describe an angel?" A WOMAN'S PLACE
1000 Johnson Ferry Road, Atlanta, 404-845-5125
The Lactation Center advice line: 404-303-3329
www.northside.com
Copyright 2006 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
