Michele Day

A light snow blows outside her office window on this Friday in December, just five days before Christmas. But Sso-Rha Kang doesn’t even glance at the wintry scene. Her gaze fixates on the printouts of color-coded floor plans and copies of about 20 images arranged in neat rows on her desk. The papers mentally transport her down the hall to the first floor gallery of The Carnegie in Covington, where she’s methodically constructing a new world. She calls it Notations on Ritual.

As director of the surgical division at St. Elizabeth Physicians, Abby Loftus-Smith, M.D., embraces high-tech procedures that speed recovery time and improve quality of life for patients. But when she talks about enhancing women’s health overall, she primarily focuses on the human side of medicine. This is what she has to say. Each stage of life is different. Our goal is to engage young women just as they start to transition out of the pediatrician’s office to help them find a gynecological home.

Jamie Hughes tells the story of that day in March as a series of fortunate events. She had just finished walking her dogs, Louie and Luna. She remembers bending down to pick up a tennis ball and feeling faint. Then, for a minute, everything went black. Hughes dismissed it as nothing. She did feel tired, though, so she walked into her Delhi Township bedroom to lie down. That’s when her husband Brad asked if something was wrong. Hughes responded in what she thought was her normal voice.