COURTESY PHOTO
Pictured is Lori Abrams Berry.
By LEAH DEARBORN
The Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce kicked off their annual networking series Monday night with a seminar about women in health care.
Retiring CEO of the Lynn Community Health Center, Lori Abrams Berry, introduced four panelist speakers from the center at the Bayside Function Room in Nahant.
Gynecologist Dr. Kristen Cotter spoke about how the creation of comprehensive medical checklists has helped to ensure that no step is overlooked when treating a pregnancy.
She told the story of a recent and particularly difficult delivery where a woman who had just given birth was hemorrhaging.
The bleeding was stopped and the patient’s life saved, but Cotter learned soon after that the woman had lost her sister in a nearly identical scenario in her native country of Cameroon.
“It was just this moment when I realized what we could do because we have access to health care,” said Cotter.
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School-based nurse practitioner Julie Chan recounted how she purposefully sought out employment with the Lynn school-based program.
“We can really be with the patients. In school-based health we help them learn to advocate for themselves,” said Chan.
Medical Director Dr. Elena Freydin spoke of her experience working with addiction patients.
“It’s amazing to see that progression and healing,” she said of a woman who is now leading a substance-free life.
The panelists dedicated the end of the discussion to answering questions, a number of which concerned the future of health coverage across the state and the country.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen, but we’re always going to be there looking for better resources,” said director of community outreach Emily Johnson.
Leslie Gould, president/CEO of the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has an annual women in networking series with four events. In the past, they organized series around women in politics and women in the media.
Leah Dearborn can be reached at ldearborn@itemlive.com.
