The History of Women’s Health of Central Virginia

In 1984, Dr. Kathryn Stewart, the first female OB in Lynchburg, joined Thomson Drive OB/GYN, which then consisted of Dr. Carrol Lippard and Dr. Lawrence Nelson.

Dr. Neiman came to Lynchburg around this time and joined the Thomson Drive OB/GYN team on July 5, 1988. The practice offered general gynecological care, obstetrical care, urinary incontinence care, colposcopy procedures and more. At this time, there were 4 or 5 small OB/GYN practices that existed in the area, each with about 1-4 doctors.

There was a merger between Thomson Drive OB/GYN (Dr. Kathryn Stewart and Dr. Wade Neiman) and Bowden and Baker (Dr. Robert Bowden and Dr. William Baker). The two groups became Oak Lane Women’s Care. Shortly after the merger, Dr. Tracy Wheelock was hired.

There was a corporate merger between Oak Lane Women’s Care and Physicians for Women (Dr. Harry Jarrett, Dr. Norman Porter, Dr. William A. Cook III, and Dr. Anita Schmidt). During this time, the practice developed a department dedicated to advanced diagnostic ultrasounds. The new group became Women’s Health Services, as coined by Dr. Kathryn Stewart. Although located in different offices, the two groups were now functioning under one name—Women’s Health Services of Central Virginia. The original doctors of Women’s Health were Dr. Bowden, Dr. Baker, Dr. Neiman, Dr. Wheelock, Dr. Jarrett, Dr. Porter, Dr. Cook, Dr. Stewart and Dr. Schmidt.

Women’s Health of Central Virginia began accepting 3rd-year obstetrics residents from the University of Virginia Medical School. Dr. Neiman was the liaison for their surgical rotation.

WHSCV performed the first laparoscopic hysterectomy in Lynchburg. The procedure, which is a more minimally invasive approach to uterus removal, became available to Lynchburg patients. Laparoscopic surgery became the mainstay of many abdominal procedures and Dr. Neiman actually scrubbed with the first laparoscopic cholecystectomy by general surgery in Lynchburg to help with the laparoscopic approach.

Women’s Health of Central Virginia moved to its current building on Nationwide Drive. The new facility was designed by doctors at the practice.

The practice continued to hire more providers and management staff to accommodate growing patient numbers.

Drs. Wheelock and Schmidt, followed by Drs. Marraccini and Neiman, were trained in the da Vinci Surgical System, a robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgical technology that allows for greater surgical precision.

As Lynchburg and the field of gynecology and obstetrics changed, so did the practice. During this time, Women’s Health of Central Virginia began offering more of the latest advancements in treatment technologies and techniques.

Women’s Health of Central Virginia began conducting its own on-site urodynamic studies. Today, the practice offers basic evaluation and specifically, Drs. May, Schindler and Lane offer more comprehensive treatment for urinary incontinence, including surgery when appropriate.

The Mammography Center opened on July 8th, 2020, helping to effectively detect breast cancer in Lynchburg patients.

As part of our commitment to providing the best possible care, we expanded our services and facility in 2024 to better meet the needs of our patients.

We recognized the need for OB/GYN, urologic care and weight management counseling in our community and surrounding areas, so we added a new 10,000 square foot wing to our office and grew our team with the addition of six new, highly trained providers.