HER Program at Johnson Memorial Health Offers New Hope for Women’s Health

Dr. Emily Cline, MD, has passionately served women and families of Johnson County for more than 28 years with Johnson Memorial Health (JMH) as a board-certified OB-GYN. Alicia Fischer, also an employee of JMH in patient accounts, was a patient of Cline’s in 1998. She and her husband, Eddie, felt so strongly about the care they received that they named their daughter Emily. Now, more than 25 years later, Emily Fischer works for JMH in a pediatrician’s office.

In January 2017, after a brief period in Knoxville, Tennessee, Cline returned to JMH to embark on a new chapter in her career: the creation of the HER program. This initiative was born out of Cline’s recognition of a significant gap in women’s health care – namely, the lack of spaces where women could openly discuss and address their health issues without fear of judgment or stigma. Cline is now a Greenwood resident and currently works in the JMH Primary Care Center in Whiteland.

Cline’s HER program was created to provide a safe and supportive place for the discussion and treatment of women’s health issues, mainly urinary incontinence. Cline says the goal was to create a program that provides “community, education, resources and wellness” for women facing health challenges in silence, affecting their quality of life and mental health as a result.

The HER program was designed to be a sanctuary for women facing a variety of health challenges. Cline’s vision for the program was clear and ambitious: to create a community-oriented, educational and resource-rich environment for women’s health. She wanted to establish a space where women could find wellness and support, free from the constraints of societal norms that often discourage open discussion of women’s health issues.

In her time as a physician, she’s seen countless women ignore health concerns because society taught them not to talk about those concerns, and put everyone else before themselves. Her goal is to change that, and help women realize that while some health concerns may be common, they can still be treated to improve overall quality of life.

According to Cline, societal norms can discourage open discussion of women’s health issues, leading women to confide in a few trusted individuals who might also be unaware of treatment options. “We are trained to not talk about those things, so if women talk about it, they talk about it in very small groups with their close friends or their families,” she says. “The people they talk to probably also don’t know there are treatments.”

Such issues that have driven Cline to create a program that is informative and provides access to women in need. The HER program puts an emphasis on providing resources and treatments for issues like urinary incontinence, pelvic and organ prolapse, pelvic pain, and endometriosis. Cline reflects on the issues concerning women’s health. “They are unmentionables,” she says. “We must be ladylike and we can’t talk about these things in public. We are brought up with this sense that these things are normal. Scrubbing toilets comes ahead of getting your bone health take care of.”

While these health concerns often go untreated, they can lead to serious physical and mental health issues. Women with health concerns they feel are unmentionable, and therefore go untreated, often have decreased self-image, depression, interference with relationships, and isolation from their social network. “If you have to run to the bathroom every 30 minutes, are you going to say yes to going to the movies with your friends?” Cline says. These are missed opportunities that women face regularly, but they don’t have to. The population is aging and the population of women who need these services is continuing to grow. Throughout her career, Cline has seen many women suffering in silence.

By breaking the silence and creating a safe place for women to talk about their health concerns, Cline is breaking the mold. These issues are no longer unmentionable in the HER program. They need to be discussed so that women can be treated. Cline focuses on reducing stigma and increasing awareness. “I really firmly believe, and I’ve been like this my whole medical career, if you get patients in, women particularly, and if you give them the information they need to make good decisions on their own health care, they will by and large pick the thing that is best for them,” she says.

Cline specializes in treating very common concerns often left out of routine exams. Treatment is highly individualized and focuses on treating the root cause of the problem, whether it be mechanical (related to the structural issues in the body) or functional (related to the muscles, bones, joints and nerves).

For example, urinary incontinence, a condition that affects many women but is rarely discussed openly, can be managed through a variety of treatments. Cline offers minimally invasive surgical options that involve smaller incisions, quicker recovery times and less pain, compared to traditional surgeries. Additionally, she provides injections that can help to improve the function of the urethra and reduce symptoms of urinary incontinence. Each patient’s treatment plan is crafted based on her specific needs and preferences, grounded in evidence-based practices.

The HER program also allows women to call or email to schedule appointments without the referral of their primary care physician. This reduces the stress around discussing uncomfortable topics and creates a more direct route to adequate care. When new patients call, the navigator will complete an in-depth intake with lab work and an extensive history, to ensure Cline is well-informed and ready aid the patient in accessing the right treatment during her appointment.

In the future, Cline hopes to expand the HER program to a brick-and-mortar establishment with more expansive resources. Her goal is to create a space for women to come and put their health first. She envisions this space as providing communal rooms free educational discussions, community space, areas for women to bring their children and be together, coffee shops and other amenities, and a navigator to guide them to the resources they need. Women are often the ones bringing each member of their family to the doctor, and it is important to build a space they are comfortable in. “They will bring their family to get good care if you open a door for them to walk through, but they have to know the door is there,” Cline says.

Cline is grateful to serve the community of Franklin and admires the city. Her favorite thing about Franklin is the growth and rejuvenation of downtown. She is always happy to go through town and see people out walking, and she enjoys the local events at the DriveHubler.com Amphitheater. She also loves to visit the farmers markets on Saturday mornings. Cline is thankful the city came together and helped so many small businesses make it through hard times during the COVID pandemic. “It’s real, it’s authentic and it’s not trying to be anything else,” she says of Franklin.

Cline’s work through the HER program represents a significant step forward in women’s health care for the community. By creating a space where women can openly discuss their health issues without judgement and receive the expert care they deserve, she is challenging outdated norms and offering hope for a better future for women’s health. Her dedication to her patients and her vision for expanding the HER program reflect her unwavering commitment to improving the lives of women in our community and beyond.

For an opportunity to hear more from Cline about the HER program, visit johnsonmemorial.org/her. Look out for an upcoming event at the Artcraft Theatre in November, which will include free snacks and drinks, a free movie, and discussion on the importance of women’s health and breaking the silence about bladder leakage. To schedule an appointment, call 317-530-3111.