Maria Shriver to speak at Cleveland Clinic’s first Women’s Health Forum

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Last year, journalist, author and activist Maria Shriver was in Cleveland as the Cleveland Clinic launched its Women’s Comprehensive Health and Research Center. Today, Shriver returns to mark the women’s health center’s first anniversary and to speak at the Clinic’s inaugural Women’s Health Forum.

The forum is meant to highlight the center’s first year and share what’s next for its research efforts, the Clinic said. The event, which is sold out, includes panel discussions on menopause, wellness, aging, and work-life balance featuring Clinic specialists and top women executives.

A boutique marketplace featuring wellness brands also was planned. The event takes place at the InterContinetal Cleveland Hotel.

Shriver — chief visionary and strategic advisor of the women’s health and research center at the Clinic — was scheduled to give a keynote address on global insights and women’s health.

The Women’s Comprehensive Health and Research Center is an initiative dedicated to helping women navigate their healthcare and receive specialized care. The center focuses on the key areas of access, connectivity, education, research and innovation to empower women to confidently navigate their healthcare.

The center’s initiatives focus on streamlining the appointment process, enhancing outreach programs, and prioritizing health equity, all with the help of patient navigators, the Clinic said.

“I’ve always believed that our nation needed a first-class comprehensive women’s health center. And now we have one — that’s huge,” Shriver said last year at the center’s launch.

Shriver is known for her time as an NBC News anchor and correspondent, as First Lady of California, and as the daughter of Eunice Kennedy and Sargent Shriver. She has partnered with the Clinic in the past as founder of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement Prevention and Research Center, located at Cleveland Clinic Nevada in Las Vegas.

In its first year, the Women’s Comprehensive Health and Research Center has served more than 10,000 patients, scheduled more than 18,000 appointments, and hosted more than 1,000 virtual menopause-focused medical appointments, the Clinic said.

This forum marks the beginning of an annual event to highlight the latest in women’s health and research, the health system said.

Highlights include a State of the Center Address with Dr. Serpil Erzurum, executive vice president and the Clinic’s chief research and academic officer.

Author and former Parade magazine editor Janice Kaplan will speak about wellness and her new book, “What Your Body Knows About Happiness: How to Use Your Body to Change Your Mind” ($27.99, Sourcebooks).

Clinic experts — including chief of staff Dr. Beri Ridgeway and Dr. Pelin Batur, medical director of the Clinic’s Women’s Comprehensive Health and Research Center — also will deliver remarks.