Maimonides Health opens first Menopause Center in Brooklyn
A new center in Brooklyn is working to change the conversation surrounding menopause. Maimonides Health has officially unveiled its dedicated Menopause Center, designed to provide specialized care and support for women navigating midlife changes.
The new center, located in Maimonides Doctors Multispecialty Pavilion in Borough Park, offers a holistic approach to care, including preventive services, physical and mental wellness support, and specialized treatments.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Dr. Scott Chudnoff – chair of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at Maimonides – highlighted a long-overdue gap in women's health care.
"We've done so much as a society to recognize what happens when women go through puberty," he said. "But what is there for women when they're going through menopause? At best, maybe a trusted friend."
"We're the first comprehensive menopause center and only comprehensive medical center in Brooklyn," said Sarah Zuercher, Director of Clinical Programs at Maimonides OBGYN. "Even though there's 1.5 million women in this borough, there's actually a real lack of menopause and perimenopause specialized care."
Patients highlight importance of getting help during "integral time"
The center's mission is to serve women like Victoria Pfenninghaus, who is navigating perimenopause. Dismayed at a lack of concern from doctors, she began seeking treatment at the new center.
"This attitude of like, 'There's nothing to do. Like, you can't get away from this. It's coming. Just, like, you're lucky that, you know, a lot of people deal with worse... just buckle up and deal with it,'" she said of the responses from previous providers.
Data from the National Institutes of Health shows that 85% of women ages 40-60 experience menopause-related symptoms, and 75% of those who seek care are left untreated by doctors.
It became a personal experience for Donna Klassen, founder of Let's Talk Menopause, a Brooklyn-based national nonprofit.
Klassen found out that she had breast cancer in 2019, and while doctors were doing testing in preparation for her double mastectomy, they found two large cysts in her ovaries. After undergoing an oophorectomy, she went into surgical menopause.
"At this really integral time in a woman's life, it's really important to get health care. And that's actually when most women fall off a cliff. They don't know where to start," she said.
Klassen believes that the new Menopause Center offers a fresh approach that can transform menopause from a silent struggle into a supportive new chapter.
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