With Woman Wellness is a joint women’s health and mental health clinic that treats women from their teenage years through menopause and even beyond, with special treatments and services catered to different stages of life. Founder Sara Posdzich, who has Master of Science in Nursing and Certified Nurse Midwifery degrees, can also provide prenatal and delivery services. On the mental health side, they do have some patients who are men, but the focus is on women.

The clinic opened in response to a need that Posdzich noticed in the area. The Adirondack Health location in Saranac Lake is the only birthing hospital in Franklin County and Essex County doesn’t have any birthing hospitals, according to the state Department of Health website. Posdzich said she hears of a lot of women going as far as Plattsburgh or Vermont for women’s health services.

There is currently only one OB-GYN provider in the Tri-Lakes — the Women’s Health Center at Adirondack Health. A second OB-GYN, who was located at TriLakes OB/GYN, retired a few years ago, Posdzich said.

“That left just the one (OG-GYN) in the hospital, taking over everything, which is a big ask,” Posdzich said. “So I was looking at just trying to bridge that gap a little bit and make access a little bit easier.”

Posdzich has been working in women’s health since 2011. She started as a nurse at a local obstetrician office, then went to midwifery school and worked as a midwife in Saratoga, where she still works per diem helping women deliver babies. When she had the idea to open the clinic, she also wanted to make it a family venture. Her mother, Tracy Posdzich, is board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner who owned her own practice in Albany.

“It kind of was a no-brainer for me to beg and plead for her to move back to the Adirondacks, because I know how she works, how she treats her patients, how her patients love her,” Posdzich said. “I feel very lucky to have her in this practice.”

So the family returned to the Tri-Lakes, where Posdzich and her sister, Sadie, grew up. Sadie joined the team as their front office manager. They opened the clinic in February 2022 and have been in their current location since August of this year.

“A sacred place”

The phrase “With Woman” is the literal translation of the word “midwife.” A certified midwife, which requires a master’s degree, goes far beyond prenatal and childbirth care with a broad focus on female reproductive health. At the clinic, they mainly focus on low-risk pregnancies and collaborate with outside OB-GYNs towards the later stages of pregnancy.

The clinic is designed so women can get many types of care, including some lab tests, in the same location. Since opening, they’ve added a nurse practitioner who specializes in menopause and a nurse who focuses on aesthetics. Whenever a patient’s needs fall outside the scope of what they can provide, they help connect them with additional providers.

With Woman Wellness brands itself as a practice that focuses on holistic wellness, which Posdzich explains as being a “multi-disciplinary” approach to health. This is part of the benefit of having mental and physical health practices under the same roof — they can collaborate and focus on treating the whole person.

“It’s treating the whole body, basically, — mentally, physically, emotionally,” Posdzich said. “We’re able to look at things from the outside and from the inside, which is helpful.”

Having multiple services in one place also helps patients feel comfortable, Posdzich said. This is one of many ways the team has been intentional with the way they administer care. Small things make a big difference, in making their patients feel comfortable, from the home-like interior design to using cloth robes instead of flimsy paper gowns.

“Some people come to me in very uncomfortable situations, so if I can lessen that in any way, shape or form, and make it feel less scary and less intimidating and more warm and welcoming,” Posdzich said. “I think creating an environment that fosters that relationship of trust is super important.”

Part of building trust with patients means taking time to listen and take their concerns seriously, Posdzich said. This is one of the benefits of owning her own practice. She isn’t bound to time constraints that are typical of a large facility and can take the time that’s needed.

“We try and keep it to be a very sacred place,” Posdzich said, “where people can feel safe, where they can feel like they’re listened to, they’re heard.”

The Lake Placid News and Adirondack Daily Enterprise is interested in hearing more about experiences related to women’s health and access to specialist care in the Tri-Lakes and greater Adirondack region, as well as other health care topics. If you have an experience that you would like to share or a topic that you think should be covered, please contact gmcintyre@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.