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MEYER MEMORIAL TRUST AWARDS $1 MILLION CHALLENGE GRANT TO OHSU CENTER FOR WOMENıS HEALTH

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oregon Health & Science University today announced a $1 million challenge grant made by the Oregon-based Meyer Memorial Trust to support construction of new clinical space for the OHSU Center for Womenıs Health within a state-of-the-art patient care facility now being built on OHSUıs Marquam Hill Campus. Once secured, the grant will complete the centerıs $12 million capital campaign.

The grant challenges community members to step forward with additional support for the OHSU Center for Womenıs Health. To secure the grant, an additional $1 million must be raised from private donors by June 2006. Each gift will be matched dollar for dollar by the Meyer Memorial Trust up to $1 million.

³In essence, every new philanthropic gift to the center will have double the impact,² said Joanna Cain, M.D., director of the OHSU Center for Womenıs Health and chairwoman of obstetrics and gynecology in the OHSU School of Medicine. ³We are exceptionally grateful for the Meyer Trustıs support. This generous grant will cap our building campaign and open the door to a new era in womenıs health care.²

The OHSU Center for Womenıs Health represents a collaboration among patient advocates, care providers, researchers and community volunteers to create a more comprehensive, effective and compassionate model for addressing and resolving womenıs health concerns. The center cares for some of Oregonıs most vulnerable women while simultaneously setting a higher standard of care, research and education for all. Since opening its temporary facility in 1999, patient visits to the center have nearly doubled to more than 34,000 last year, demonstrating a strong community demand for comprehensive care informed by the latest medical research.

³This is the largest grant the Meyer Memorial Trust has made in a number of years,² said Doug Stamm, the trustıs executive director. ³We are interested in this project because the center offers services to women at all income levels across the state while advancing national research and education in womenıs

The centerıs new facility will provide clinical space for all of its current services, including progressive primary care, obstetrics and gynecology, womenıs gynecologic cancer care, and specialty care, including plastic surgery and urology. The new center will encompass an expanded womenıs breast care center, offering imaging, immediate diagnosis, and multidisciplinary womenıs cancer care ‹ including a multidisciplinary consultation service for women and families at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer, the only such one-stop service in the Northwest. New space will also be available for mental wellness services and for outreach from nutrition classes to support groups.

The Meyer Memorial Trust was created by the late Fred Meyer, who built the chain of retail stores bearing his name throughout the Pacific Northwest. When Meyer died in 1978 at the age of 92, his will established the trust, which began operating in 1982. In April 1990 the Fred Meyer Charitable Trust changed its name to Meyer Memorial Trust. The trust is not connected in any way with Fred Meyer Inc., the retail enterprise.

The Campaign for Womenıs Health is a key priority in OHSUıs Oregon Opportunity campaign. For information on giving opportunities, contact Kathleen Shelton at 503 228-1730 or . You may also make a gift online at www.ohsufoundation.org.