St. Louis native Cedric the Entertainer and his sister Sharita Kyles Wilson’s mission to financially support and acknowledge the launch of SSM Health Foundation’s Women’s Health Initiative took them throughout St. Louis on March 31, 2022.
The siblings lost their mother, longtime educator and reading specialist Rosetta Boyce Kyles, to cancer in 2015. Kyles received cancer treatment and care at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital, and her children say they were “inspired by the compassion and care their mother received.”
Cedric and Kyles Wilson have supported SSM Health’s with donations and fundraising efforts, and the SSM St. Mary’s Rosetta Boyce Kyles Pavilion was established in 2016.
According to SSM, $1.9 million has been raised to help launch the Women’s Health Initiative, which includes patient-centered programs affecting all women. Cedric and his sister donated $25,000 to the fundraising effort at an event the evening of March 31.
“When my mother got diagnosed with cancer and started on her journey of recovery, SSM showed us great compassion,” Cedric said at the KSDK downtown studios.
“We saw that was the natural way they cared about all their patients. It was an opportunity to get involved and bring awareness to work that’s done there to be able to help other people. I wanted to be able to contribute and build upon that.”
Kyles Wilson said the SSM Initiative can help reduce health care disparities that that exist between women in white and minority communities between health care provided between Black women and white women.
“We have to be mindful, ask questions, seek other opinions and search for all the resources we can find to make sure that we’re okay,” she said.
“Women often overlook their health, and we want to change that. We’re typically caregivers and don’t always take good care of ourselves because we’re so busy taking care of others and meeting their needs. With this initiative, we want to make sure women have the resources they need.”
The siblings have hosted benefit galas to help financially support, and they have decided to take a more direct approach.
“Our long-term plan for the program is to [increase] public service announcements, radio, and TV ads for people to hear the message throughout the year,” Cedric said.
“We think this kind of fundraising and crowdsourcing resonates more with people than expecting all the rich people to [lend support.] It’s about donating money to someone in need. It could help them catch an Uber ride to the doctor’s office or pay for their bus pass. We have to be more intentional about caring for the women in our lives and communities.”
“This campaign gives each of us an unprecedented opportunity to tangibly improve the lives of women in our region, by providing high-quality care for the evolving health needs a woman experiences throughout her lifetime,” said Paul R. Ross, SSM Health Foundation – St. Louis president said in a release.
“When women don’t have access to specialized and comprehensive health care, they too often end up suffering in silence or delaying care until it’s too late. This campaign gives the community an opportunity to unite behind the women in our lives and ensure they receive the care they need and deserve.”
According to SSM, the program “will integrate care across specialties from preventative visits to community needs assessments, to behavioral health support and beyond in order to create a holistic approach to each individual woman’s needs.”
It will address pregnancy-related mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and mood disorders; standardization of screening timelines, tools, and referrals; coordination of care with a Nurse Navigator to obtain needed supports and additional access to nurse practitioners experienced in women’s and behavioral health.
There is also a partnership with SSM Health DePaul Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center for acute needs.
“The fundraising campaign will provide vital support needed to reach women in all of SSM Health’s service areas in the entire St. Louis region,” Ross said.
To donate or learn more about the initiative visit https://www.givetossmhealth.org/womenshealth/ or call 314-523-8044.
