Ep 28: Oh Baby! Discussing Women’s Health during COVID-19 with Dr. Jill Hechtman, OB/GYN
On this podcast, Sarina Fazan is joined by Dr. Jill Hechtman, Medical Director of Tampa Obstetrics, to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on women’s health. Well-known in the Tampa Bay area, Dr. Jill also is the obstetrics and gynecology expert for “Daytime,” a nationally syndicated talk show. She’s going on the record about what’s happening in local hospitals and what we can do to help prevent the spread the novel coronavirus.
Dr. Jill says, “Let’s just start with the media, and specifically social media, has done an injustice to good information… Everyone seems to be an expert, and that’s really hurt what’s happening in the public. So, let me set the record straight… the hospitals are full, and we are in trouble. That’s why I am saying, mask up, wash hands, socially distance, do all of the things you are supposed to do, because the facts that are being put out – the positive tests – are legitimate.”
With no vaccine or treatment for COVID-19, she recommends that you follow the CDC’s guidelines to slow the spread and to stay in contact with your physician regarding any health concerns. Dr. Jill also says that it’s important for pregnant women, who are at a higher risk for COVID-19, to continue their regular OB visits and for all women to schedule their annual gynecological check-ups and mammograms.
She emphasizes that trusting your physician is essential, especially during this uncertain time. Dr. Jill asserts, “One of my big beliefs, when you’re taking care of patients if you tell them different things, they lose trust. And, what I think is happening to the American public right now is that they don’t trust us. Where before you would never second guess what I told you, but when I told you one thing and then we changed it and now we’re going back, we have this sense of lack of trust. So, we need to do better.”
Dr. Jill started her medical career at Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth Dominica. After medical school, she started an anesthesiology residency in Chicago at RUSH University, where she met the love of her life, Dr. Jason Hechtman. They both moved to Detroit, Michigan, to complete their residencies. After completing two years of Anesthesiology, Dr. Jill decided that she really wanted to be an OB/GYN like her father. She transferred to Wayne State University to complete a four-year residency in OB/GYN. After completion, she and her husband moved to Tampa where Dr. Jill took over her father’s practice.
In addition to her work at Tampa Obstetrics, Dr. Jill recently served as the Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital in Tampa. She is the past Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brandon Regional Hospital and served on the hospital’s Board of Trustees for two years. Dr. Jill was also recently appointed as a member of the Florida House of Representatives Medicaid Low Income Pool Council.