In honor of National Wear Red Day, Horizon Health hosted a luncheon at Betty Jane’s Kitchen. Wear Red Day is a feature of American Heart Month, and the goal is to raise awareness in women about the importance of taking care of their health, especially heart health.

Samantha Volstorf, a nurse practitioner at Horizon Health, was the featured speaker. She is a board-certified nurse practitioner in both family medicine and psychiatric mental health.  

Her career at Horizon Health has included positions in the emergency room, serving as a nurse practitioner providing patient care at the EZ Care walk-in-clinic, the Chrisman Clinic and as a hospitalist in the inpatient unit at Paris Community Hospital.

She expanded her practice to include out-patient psychiatric services in 2020 and discussed the history of mental and physical health for the audience.

Dating back many years ago, mental health in women was considered a result of hysteria, witchcraft and the Suffrage movement.

Volstorf emphasized there are many disparities in healthcare, both physical and mental since one in four women do not seek healthcare due to the cost, no time and a lack of childcare to keep appointments with a provider.

Mental health issues are a leading cause of death because they can lead to cardiovascular conditions, other physical ailments and suicide.

Women, Volstorf said, are more likely to develop mental health issues than men. There is a difference in how mental health conditions manifest between men and women. She said men more distinctly identify to anger rather than the mental anguish that can plague women.

“We still have a stigma about mental illness, but we are breaking through the issues.,” Volstorf said.

She can be reached at the Paris Clinic, 727 East Court St. or call 217-465-8411.