Community Partner: Shelterhouse’s Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women
Shelterhouse’s Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women was established in 1997 by Dr. Hatton and his wife, Esther Marie. The center provides a respite for women in Cincinnati who are in need of food and shelter while they plan for their futures. The center has 60 non-dormitory style beds and accommodates adult women of all ages and backgrounds. In addition to offering housing, the center provides case management to residents to meet their psychosocial needs. They assist with housing placement, healthcare enrollment, and drug and alcohol recovery. Shelterhouse also runs the David and Rebecca Barron Center for Men, which provides similar services in addition to an on-site medical clinic.
While serving over 2000 people in a year between the men and women’s centers, the Shelterhouse organization aims to provide housing, help, and hope. It partners with numerous volunteer groups and organizations across the city–including medical students, residents, and physicians from UCCOM who provide medical services in after-hours in free clinics.
About Krysten
Krysten Harvey is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She was born and raised in Memphis, TN. Before beginning medical school, she earned Bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Medicine, Health, and Society from Vanderbilt University and a Master’s in Bioinformatics from NYU. The disparities she noticed in her own community in Memphis were even more striking when she began to meet patients in clinical settings. Through patient interactions and qualitative research, she has realized that there are modifiable barriers to quality healthcare that include patient education and physician-patient interactions. She is passionate towards improving outcomes in minority, immigrant, and underserved populations. As an aspiring OBGYN, she is especially committed to improving women’s health. In her service project, she will seek to identify gaps in preventative care for women staying at the Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women, provide education on the importance of screening, empower women to advocate for themselves at the point-of-care, and connect them with the appropriate medical professionals.