Dr. Bill Thomas and L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital personnel are on a mission – to make more women health-wise.

One of the venues the group uses for this mission is an annual women’s symposium.

This year’s symposium, which was held February 13 at Cambrian Ridge Golf Club, focused on the issue of urinary incontinence. The featured speaker was Dr. Thomas, a board-certified ob/gyn physician at Stabler Hospital.

&uot;Urinary incontinence is a subject that no one talks about,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;Our hope for the symposium is to get people talking about it and seeking treatment for the condition. Our new UroDynamic laboratory testing facility at the hospital brings Greenville up to par with any facility you can find in Montgomery or Mobile. The only facility that could be considered better than ours would be found in Birmingham – they have the only board-certified urogynecologist in the state there.&uot;

For Stabler Hospital’s CEO, Connie Nicholas, the object of the symposium goes beyond women’s healthcare to the availability of community care.

&uot;We have a full range of women’s services,&uot; Nicholas said. &uot;Even though we closed our obstetrics department at the hospital last March, we want the community to know that Dr. Thomas is here.

"He is a very competent doctor. But beyond that, we want to retain the community’s health business here at Stabler. We have found that women are the primary decisionmakers when it comes to healthcare, so if we can keep them from migrating to other communities for their healthcare, it will be beneficial to everyone.&uot;

For Greenville resident Bennie Payne, the symposium was a great asset.

&uot;I thought the whole thing was just wonderful,&uot; Payne said. &uot;We are lucky to have doctors and medical facilities of this caliber here that are willing to offer these educational seminars. I found the symposium very helpful and informative. It was very well done.&uot;