The WEM Group at Work!

Despite some constraints due to the pandemic, the WEM Group continues to grow with each passing year. Thanks to the chair and founder, Dr. Risa Moriarity, female faculty and residents were able to attend the FeminEM national conference virtually in October 2020. Inspired by that conference, several female residents wrote and deployed the current Antepartum, Postpartum, and Lactation Guidelines for our program. The conference also fueled renewed interest in a lactation room in the Emergency Department. Spearheaded by Dr. Moriarity and our departmental chair, Dr. McKenzie, the WEM Group was able to allocate space and design a dedicated lactation room for our breast-feeding mothers. The ribbon cutting was in March 2021 and this well-appointed, easily accessible room has gotten rave reviews by the many women who have already used it.

Adapting to life in a pandemic and shifting many activities outdoors, the WEM Group partnered with the Capitol Area Habitat for Humanity on a “Women’s Build” in November 2021. We came together on a chilly weekend and had a great time wielding power tools while working on a house that will soon be ready for its owner: a single mother. Most recently, we celebrated Women Physician’s Day (February 3rd) with special programming and sweet treats during our weekly resident conference.  In 2022, our hope is to resume in-person activities, recruiting potential residents with our annual Meet and Greet Student Breakfast and planning other events that foster relationships and support our current female faculty and residents.