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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Women's Health Time Capsule Initiative

DECEMBER 3, 2001
CONTACT: Office on Women’s Health
(202) 690-7650

Washington, December 3, 2001— The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today celebrated its 10^th anniversary with the unveiling of a Women’s Health Time Capsule to honor the progress made in women’s health in the 20^th century. The anniversary celebration and Time Capsule dedication took place at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, with more than 150 health professionals, government and private sector women’s health advocates on hand to honor a century’s worth of achievements.

OWH also released today the historical document, A Century of Women’s Health, 1900-2000 which describes the major health events of the 20^th century. One hundred years ago, a woman was fortunate to live past her 48^th birthday---the average lifespan for women in the 19^th century. Through advocacy and public health initiatives, women have gained 30 years of life in this century.

The Time Capsule contains more than 70 items that document how preventive health efforts and health communications evolved and improved over the last century, as well as items that have improved women’s quality of life, information on state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment of the diseases that most affect women today, and personal articles that demonstrate women’s continued interest in beauty and body image. It will go on tour and be displayed at several locations around the country over the next five months and will be buried on the grounds of the National Institutes of Health during Women’s Health Week in 2002 (beginning Mother’s Day, May 12^th).

The Time Capsule is designed to be opened in the year 2100. Seven girls from around the country participated as special guests today and were given charms containing a scroll with information on the Time Capsule event and preservation location. They were asked to preserve the information for future generations.

Today’s event marked the 10^th anniversary of the Office on Women’s Health, created during the Administration of President George Bush in 1991. A decade later, there are women’s health initiatives in most federal health agencies, and women’s health coordinators in each of the HHS regions around the country.

"The growth of the Office on Women’s Health is the result of hard work by visionary policymakers with the support of women and men all over the country, who understand that women have unique health needs," said Dr. Wanda K. Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health (Women’s Health) who served as the Celebration Chair. "It is important to remember that the more we learn about the differences between men and women in health behaviors and disease, the more we can customize prevention, diagnostic and treatment strategies. All Americans benefit."

OWH has a series of broad initiatives, including the National Women’s Health Information Center at www.womenshealth.gov or 1-800-994-WOMAN (1-888-220-5446) and 1-888-220-5446 for the hearing impaired and the National Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health and National Community Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health programs—model centers of health care for women in academic medical centers and community health clinics around the country. It also sponsors educational campaigns on such topics as minority women’s health, bone health and osteoporosis, eating disorders, breastfeeding, lupus, adolescent health heart disease and cancer. In addition, OWH chairs the HHS Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health which consists of women’s health representatives from each of the HHS offices and agencies.

The document, A Century of Women’s Health, 1900-2000, a list of Time Capsule items, a timeline of major women’s health events, and information on the Office on Women’s Health can be found at www.womenshealth.gov.

CONTACT: Carol Krause, Office on Women’s Health 202/205-2551