Mercy Women First: A home for women’s health

Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital has long offered gynecology services, but patients gained a superior level of convenience in 2021, when the hospital pooled its women’s health services in the new Mercy Women First center.

Patients who come to the center for an appointment can expect a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere, says James J. Cosgrove, DO, an experienced Mercy Fitzgerald gynecologist who specializes in robotic surgery.

“We treat all women the same. We don’t turn anybody away. Whatever their needs are, we’ll take care of them.”

In addition to Cosgrove, the center is staffed by three board-certified nurse practitioners. “We do a lot of annual well-woman visits,” says Margaret Halloran, CRNP. Halloran and her colleagues—Michele Strykowsky, CRNP, and Tristin Cadle, CRNP—are all board-certified nurse practitioners. In addition to providing routine preventive gynecological services, such as pap smears and breast exams, they treat acute conditions, such as abnormal bleeding and vaginal irritation. (The center doesn’t provide obstetric services.)

Patients with conditions requiring gynecologic surgery are referred to Dr. Cosgrove. Breast biopsies and surgeries are referred to Karen Kish, MD, Mercy Fitzgerald breast surgeon.

“Most procedures are performed minimally invasive,” Dr. Cosgrove says. One surgical service Dr. Cosgrove offers is hysteroscopy, a procedure where a narrow instrument called a hysteroscope is used to examine the inside of the uterus. Hysteroscopy can help determine causes of post-menopausal bleeding or remove non-cancerous growths like polyps and fibroids while leaving the uterus intact.

Mercy Women First also offers plastic surgery services, including breast reconstruction, reduction and augmentation procedures; body contouring for massive weight loss; and lymphedema management. Lymphedema is a medical condition characterized by swelling from a build-up of lymph fluid in the body.

Referrals made easy

Those services are just the tip of the iceberg of what patients can expect. Mercy Women First providers can also refer patients to primary care physicians or specialists, as well as a range of other services provided on the Mercy Fitzgerald campus. “We can give referrals for pelvic floor physical therapy,” Halloran says, to treat concerns ranging from urinary incontinence to painful intercourse.

Mercy Fitzgerald currently has a trained pelvic floor physical therapist at its Wellness Center, located on the hospital campus.

“It’s convenient that patients don’t have to go somewhere else to receive these helpful services,” Halloran says.

If patients need colonoscopies, mammograms or CT scans, they can get them all done at Mercy Fitzgerald too. “We can facilitate referrals for those services in a timely manner,” Dr. Cosgrove says.