🏆 Women’s Health: What You Need to Know Right Now

Women’s health deserves real conversation, real information, and real advocacy.

In this episode of Right Now with Rhenotha, we dive into an important discussion about the health issues women need to pay attention to right now. From prevention and wellness awareness to speaking up, asking questions, and prioritizing your own care, this conversation is a reminder that your health matters.

Too often, women juggle everything else while putting themselves last. This episode encourages listeners to pause, get informed, and take ownership of their wellness journey.

Whether you’re looking for insight, encouragement, or a reminder to schedule that appointment, this conversation is for you.

🎙 Hosted by Rhenotha Whitaker
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Right Now with Rhenotha
Hosted by Rhenotha Whitaker

Right Now with Rhenotha is an experience designed to inform, inspire, and entertain. Blending conversation, storytelling, and everyday moments, it captures the energy of what’s happening right now.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Thank you everyone for tuning in to right now with Renata. I am here at the North Best Israel Medical Center annual Women's Health Day. And I'm here with the amazing Atia Jahara Shidi. She is the chief equity officer here at North Best Israel Medical Center and is the boss of the day. Okay, she's the moderator for the panel, and she makes sure that this event happens annually every year. Welcome, Atia.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Thank you, Renata. So great to be with you this morning.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Oh, you are so welcome. Listen, I'm excited because I am a part of Women's Health Day. I think this is my fourth year.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Yes, and we couldn't have Women's Health Day without you and that energy that you bring. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Well, you're so welcome. If you don't know, I am a Zumba instructor, and they contact me to make sure I do the Zumba for four hours every year from 12 to 4 for the Women's Health Day. So for people who may have been hearing about Women's Health Day for the first time, what is it? If they've heard it for the first time, what is Women's Health Day?

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Women's Health Day is an opportunity for you to take time out and put your health first. For you to hear from an expert panel group to learn about different aspects of health, how to prevent different diseases, and how to just stay well, right? This is an opportunity to gather with a bunch of women who have like experiences and have conversations and network and really encourage each other to take care of their health and themselves together.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

So we can say that it's geared toward our sisters and neighbors in the city of Newark, New Jersey.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Yes, we service a course across the state of New Jersey at RWJ Barnabas Health, but right here locally is the Greater Newark area, so Urbenton, Hillside, East Orange, Newark, and the like. Women's Health Day is full of great information. So, one, we want to make sure everybody gets the information. Two, there's opportunities for screening, so blood pressure screening, cholesterol screening, all types of information that keeps us in the forefront of preventative health. Then there's um the things that kind of make you think about self-care and being really clear about putting yourself first. Meditation, Zumba. We have self-care bingo.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

How long has it been going on?

SPEAKER_00 2:31

So we've been doing this over two decades. However, right here at the Marriott, this is our 12th year doing it here at the Marriott. Started by late Alma Beattie, and she always had a very connected, good connection to the community. And as she interacted with folks in the community, she understood that women's health had to be priority. So women, they say men are the salt of the earth, but women are the salt of the earth, right? She know that when the woman is well, she's taking care of the household, she's making sure that our fathers, our brothers, our men are well as well, and our children. And so with Alma Beattie, she leaned in and said, What can we do around women? And it started with about 20 to 40 women in our all our cafeteria, and it's grown since then to almost 600 women here at the Marriott.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Wow, illisten. And I was here early, so okay. And it doesn't start until 11, so but at 9:30, they getting they are getting a spot, okay?

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

So as a chief equity officer, okay, you see the bigger picture. Why are events like this especially important for Newark?

SPEAKER_00 3:38

So access is number one. Access is number one. We want to make sure that people not are not only informed, but have access to great health care, have access to being able to take care of families and really um looking at all of our social determinants of health, making sure that there's equity in health, right? We always know that if you don't have access, we don't have a community.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

A lot of people um see the emergency room as their primary care and all that kind of stuff. But women's health day also connects women to services like making sure they have a primary care, making sure that they can see dental services, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:17

Absolutely. Primary care is so very important, and we do want to make sure that the emergency room is not the first time that you seek health. So events like this give you exposure in a very comfortable setting, along with your neighbors and community and friends, to be able to receive information in a way that's comfortable and not necessary at this very moment. It's when you are uh waiting till late to get help that you end up in the emergency room and now you're in an urgency and not learning about how to take care of yourself but in a very acute state. So this is the perfect opportunity to really be in front of and then have a neighbor or sister or a friend or daughter to share this experience with you.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

So, what are some conversations um that women should be having regarding their health?

SPEAKER_00 5:03

So, women um and all people need to really speak up and be their own advocate about their health care.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Hello, say that again. Right? Well, no, I really want you to say it again.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Advocacy is key and self-advocacy is very important. When you think about it, you see your doctor maybe once a year. If you go to a specialist specialist, you might see them often. But the doctor sees many women or and many patients every single day, every single hour, a few minutes, right? And so when you come in, you want to be very individualized with your doctor and partner with your doctor to be able to advocate for your health care. So you see this little bump on my hand today, it wasn't there yesterday. That's right. What does it mean? And this is the thing about preventative health. We want to make sure that we understand what's going on with our bodies, like getting our breast self-exams and going to our doctors for our physical exams early so we know when things change and we can advocate for ourselves. So I think that's very important.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

Listen, advocacy is key. I myself, you know, I've had pulmonary embolism.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Mmm.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

You get it. I get it. You get it, I almost died twice, right? And so after that, I was like, look, something's happening. What's this? You know? Yeah. And so that's how everyone, not just women, needs to be when it comes to their house.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

I think it's so important to understand that your primary care physician or provider is your partner in your journey through health, right? And so when you think about a partnership, it's the sharing of information, it is understanding what pathway, so it's not somebody dictating or telling you what to do or you going against the grain, but really looking for a common ground that works best with your um lifestyle and situation as well as the best care for your health.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Healthcare is a partnership.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

And most people think that you know the doctor dictates what happens to you. No, you have a say, like you said, advocacy, and it's a partnership. You know, if you going back and forth with your doctor and then coming up with a solution. Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

I think always having a game plan. So when you think about getting dressed in the morning, you have a plan on what you're gonna wear. When you think about making breakfast in the morning, you have a plan on what you're gonna wear, what you're gonna eat. And so setting up and having a great game plan of how you're going to navigate your health and your wellness is a great thing.

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Why not?

SPEAKER_00 7:19

You do it for everything else, and you do that well with your Zumba as well. With your you are like a wellness coach to folks to keep people active and moving, and mobility is so key in health.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Yeah, absolutely. If you're look, okay, if you're on a wellness journey, okay? Movement and diet are the two biggest things that you need to do on a wellness journey. It starts in the kitchen, okay, but you also need to move as well. Thank you. Yes. Alright, I got a little game for you. Oh, good. Okay, you can easy, alright?

SPEAKER_00 7:50

You don't never know what to expect with right now with Renata, so I'm ready. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

Just gonna answer these questions. Rapid fire. Is that all right?

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Ready?

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Let's go. One word to describe North women. Go.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

Dynamic.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Period. Okay, because we are, okay. Self-care means what?

SPEAKER_00 8:09

Focus.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Biggest health myth women need to stop believing in.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Hmm. Wow, that's a stomper for me. The myth that we need to stop believing in. I'm gonna say the truth that you need to believe in that primary care partnership is important. And that's not one word.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

Yes, yes, that's all right. Movement or meditation?

SPEAKER_00 8:32

For me, movement.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

Okay, yeah, but yeah, because this I was well, I mean, I guess she may as well be award-winning cyclist. No, honey, she cycled to DC and back. Oh my gosh. Yes. Do you see her? Okay. Your favorite part of Women's Health Day.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

My favorite part of Women's Health Day is actually walking into the ballroom and seeing so many women, whether they're new here for the first time or they're coming back, that are really excited and engaged to hear about wellness and be really advocates for themselves to be able to stand up and say to a neighbor, I'm glad you came today. I think it's the smiles on the face of them getting the information knowing that they chose themselves first today.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Yes. All right, ma'am. So just let everyone know how they can get involved with Women's Health Day on an annual basis because I know it's a coveted list, right? So how can they get on the list to make sure they attend every year?

SPEAKER_00 9:31

So I just want to make sure that we don't think that this is the only time that we come together for health care. That there is um health screenings, health information throughout our medical center and throughout our communities on a daily basis, on a regular basis. We have our federally qualified health centers as well. And so there's an important step for everybody to take that just don't wait till you get here to learn about the information, but to make sure that it's a part of your daily living, that you're thinking about self and wellness first. And so, in order to learn about us, to follow us on our websites, follow us on social media. Um, Facebook is a great place, and I know for those in different spaces that might be Instagram, it may be LinkedIn, but to really make sure that um you are following us, uh, we have all our information posted on our social uh pages.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

Okay, thank you, Atiya. And all that Newark Best Israel Medical Center has to offer for people in Newark and Greater Newark. Okay?

SPEAKER_00 10:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

Thank you. Thank you.