U. health educator is fondly remembered

Friends, co-workers and family joined together yesterday evening at the University Museum's Rainey Auditorium to pay tribute to Student Health educator and women's health advocate Kate Webster. Webster, who died July 6 of heart failure, was remembered for her two years of work at the University as well as for previous work in the field of women's health and gynecological medicine. At the ceremony, a video retrospective of Webster's life was shown after 10 of her friends and co-workers spoke. Popular among faculty and students alike, Webster was described as a woman who was more than a nurse, educator or professional, as someone who sincerely cared about everyone she she met. Webster's career in women's public health began in 1974 with the founding of the Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women, which was devoted to cooperative health care. While there, Webster worked with abused women, providing gynecological treatment and counseling. It was through such work that Gina Savior and other co-workers of Webster first discovered Webster's ability to reach women in a uniquely personal way. "I have never met anyone who had such an impact on people, anyone who so sincerely would listen to their concerns," Savior said. "I watched Kate go through a metamorphosis for the good – like a butterfly." Two years ago, Webster left Blackwell to join the health education staff of the University. She brought with her what had become her signature personal touch, Student Health Director MarJeanne Collins said. In 1980, she began the Surrogate Patient Education Consultants, a program that sensitizes medical students to the needs of women during gynecological exams. Through SPEC, Webster brought a personal connection to a highly delicate, often frightening experience, Collins said. She worked to show students how to convey kindness to their patients and show a sincerity sometimes missing in the medical profession. "Kate contributed a lot," Collins said. "She made a difference in the scope and breadth of our sexual education program, and brought with her the full range of life's joys and pains. She lived life in a vibrant, exuberant way, and left a legacy more personal than most." Throughout the memorial service, mourners told of a woman who brought a sparkle to life, with genuine vivacity and integrity. Tracy Breen, a 1993 College graduate who worked closely with Webster through Facilitating Learning About Sexual Health, fondly recalled her as "the woman with the bat" – a nickname given to her by students who saw her sex education demonstrations on how to use a condom with a baseball bat. "I could not describe Kate as merely a friend," Breen said. "She was so much more to me than that."

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