![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MIJ-L-WOMENS-HEALTH-05xx-02.jpg\")
Dr. Lizellen La Follette works at the MarinHealth Women’s Lifelong Health and Wellness Clinic in Greenbrae, Calif., on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\nJenn Emberly\u2019s OB-GYN guided her through pregnancy and childbirth. Now, 20 years later, she\u2019s leading her through menopause.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving someone who has known me and known my journey is very helpful,\u201d said Emberly, a Fairfax resident. \u201cShe was really holistically looking at all my care as well, and then shepherding me through that journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
That approach is what the doctor, Lizellen La Follette, is trying to achieve in the new women\u2019s clinic she has opened in partnership with MarinHealth. The practice \u2014 the Women\u2019s Lifelong Health and Wellness Clinic in Greenbrae \u2014 focuses on providing long-term, comprehensive and connected healthcare to women of all ages.<\/p>\n
La Follette said there are key issues that affect women\u2019s health over time, including decreases in bone density, ovarian health and heart disease. Understanding the specific physiology of women and how their hormonal and metabolic changes impact these health risks throughout their lives is vital to providing comprehensive care, she said.<\/p>\n
The clinic will act as the center point for the care while coordinating with specialists like cardiologists and endocrinologists at MarinHealth. The clinic also offers care for sexual and vaginal health, sleep and mental health.<\/p>\n
La Follette said she aims to address a historic gap in women\u2019s health care. For years, misinformation and lack of research about menopause had led to many women feeling lost or ignored in their search for adequate care, she said.<\/p>\n
Emberly has experienced this firsthand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was younger it was just sort of, oh, you have a headache, you have cramps, just go lie down. It just almost felt a little bit dismissive,\u201d she said. \u201cSo having sort of that understanding now means that I can seek out help and I know why and how it\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Lizellen La Follette works at the MarinHealth Women’s Lifelong Health and Wellness Clinic in Greenbrae, Calif., on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n
La Follette is not alone in prioritizing menopause and hormone-centered care. In the last several years, a new wave of doctors in the U.S. has been expanding its menopause training and care opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no field of menopause. This is unfortunately a time in a woman\u2019s life that is not a focus of medical school education,\u201d said Dr. Leah Millheiser, a Sutter Health gynecologist. \u201cUntil the last 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Elmira Manoucheri, an obstetrician-gynecologist with Kaiser Permanente in San Rafael, said she realized that after years in the field she had a significant gap in her training and sought out menopause-specific education. Once she started, the lack of research was \u201ceye-opening,\u201d Manoucheri said.<\/p>\n
She said many women have \u201csuffered in silence for years\u201d because of inadequate information.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve often times said we don\u2019t have a shortage of menopausal women, we have historically had a shortage of menopause-trained providers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
One study in particular had a long-term impact on adequate menopause care, according to Manoucheri, Millheiser and La Follette.<\/p>\n
In 2002, the Women\u2019s Health Initiative released a study that correlated hormone replacement therapy \u2014 the leading treatment for peri- and postmenopausal symptoms \u2014 with increased risks for breast cancer, heart disease and stroke, asserting that the risks were greater than benefits.<\/p>\n
Repeated research following this study challenged its findings, but the impact of the study led to a decline in the popularity of hormone replacement and lasting fears about the treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe WHI scared everyone and now that pendulum has been swinging the other way,\u201d said Manoucheri.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand WHI was flawed,\u201d La Follette said. \u201cWe are still offering hormones and choices for women as they go forward with the idea that you are shoulder to shoulder with me and I will educate you to the best of my ability and we\u2019ll make decisions based on that information.\u201d<\/p>\n
MarinHealth\u2019s new clinic is open and accepting patients. Representatives from Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health say they are also working to expand their menopause and hormonal care in Marin. Sutter Health recently launched a \u201cvirtual menopause program,\u201d which allows women to access online programming and educational materials.<\/p>\n
The nonprofit health group has a women\u2019s clinic in Santa Rosa and is expanding into Petaluma. It also plans to bring more menopause care to Novato, according to Dr. Nicole Kwon, an obstetrician-gynecologist with Sutter Health in Santa Rosa.<\/p>\n
Kaiser Permanente in San Rafael offers a two-hour webinar in which patients can speak to a menopause-certified provider. The webinars typically have up to 500 patients. The medical network also offers smaller question-and-answer sessions.<\/p>\n
Emberly said she\u2019s looking forward to continuing to see a provider who will prioritize her long-term health goals during and after menopause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be as healthy as I can moving into the future. I want to live a long and active life,\u201d she said. \u201cI definitely feel like Dr. La Follette is going to help in that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MIJ-L-WOMENS-HEALTH-05xx-04.jpg\")
Dr. Lizellen La Follette talks about her new clinic in one of the exam rooms at the MarinHealth Women’s Lifelong Health and Wellness Clinic in Greenbrae, Calif., on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jenn Emberly\u2019s OB-GYN guided her through pregnancy and childbirth. Now, 20 years later, she\u2019s leading her through menopause.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[2356,259187,97,252,253,2558,983,5415,294916,3,4910,5413,7234,294917],"class_list":["post-676178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-california","tag-greenbrae","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-marin-county","tag-marinhealth-medical-center","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-north-bay","tag-northern-california","tag-sutter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}