COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M Health opened a women's care plus clinic in mid-January for women of all ages. We spoke with their care team to learn more about what the clinic offers along with their mental and wellness initiatives.
"I'm most excited about transitioning and focusing on women’s care and offering various services kind of focusing on women’s wellness, asking women what it is they want, what the plus in women’s care plus stands for them and trying to develop a program through Texas A&M where we can expand upon women’s services," said Michele Garant, DO.
Along with a variety of services, there is also a broad range of ages seen in the clinic.
"I had seen one patient starting at age 16 and my oldest patient for the day had been 86 and that’s really kind of why I set out to do what I did when I chose what position and what kind of career I wanted to do in medicine," said Dr. Garant.
And serving this variety of an age gap is what brings purpose to Dr. Garant's work.
"One of the things I was looking for was having the variety of context in issues during the day and so serving women from their young teenage years all the way until they are well into menopause, and our geriatric population has been really exciting," said Dr. Garant.
Family nurse practitioner, Tiffany Wilson shared how their clinic allows women to decide what the future of their wellness looks like.
“We are really going to be attuned to your comfort so whatever you want done we are going to go with that," said Wilson. "We are not going to push anything on you that you don’t want to do. We may talk about why you don’t want something that is recommended or vice versa but really just letting you guide what needs to be done.”
Another addition to the Women's Care Plus Clinic is how Medical students at Texas A&M will have the opportunity to do clinicals at clinic and learn a variety of skills.
"I’m really looking forward to being part of that building what it is you know that women are going to look for and having the opportunity to teach students, medical students and probably nurse practitioners, and things like that and offer them the opportunity of taking care of this population," said Dr. Garant.
Dr.Garant is looking forward to helping the future generation of doctors and nurses gain exposure in the field and community.
"I think that we have a lot to offer with our patient diversity and we’ll be able to give a broad spectrum of women’s issues and ages and things like that as the students come through," said Dr. Garant. "So it’s just an exciting time."
You can expect a variety of services at the women's care plus clinic ranging from well women's exams, birth control, aesthetics, and soon behavioral health services.
The clinic is currently open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will be looking to expand its hours to reach the needs of its patients.