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For Molly Rheney, MD, Jackson is her old stomping ground where she grew up, so when she was ready to go into practice, she could not think of a better place to do it.

Rheney, an obstetrician/gynecologist, graduated from Old Hickory Academy in the early 1980s and knew she was interested in pursuing a career in medicine. Although her father was a dentist, she knew that was not the field for her. For college, medical school, internship and residency, she chose not to wander far from her Jackson roots, venturing one hour west to Memphis to graduate from Rhodes College and to receive her medical degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She completed her internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Regional Medical Center in Memphis.

Obstetrics and gynecology was not the first specialty that came to Rheney’s mind when she entered medical school. “I was thinking more along the lines of internal medicine,” said Rheney. “It was during my third year on my OB/GYN rotation I realized that women’s health interested me more and especially the obstetric portion. The combination of surgery and medicine appealed to me. I also was drawn to the enthusiasm of the OB side.”

When Rheney completed her residency, she had enough of life in the big city. “After working as a resident in Memphis, I realized the medical environment of Jackson really appealed to me, and my family was here,” said Rheney, who joined the Woman’s Clinic in July 1988. “I loved the idea of practicing at one hospital, in one clinical location in a progressive medical environment with colleagues who were up-to-date on the latest techniques. Jackson and the Woman’s Clinic offered me all of that.”

In 1990, she married attorney, Alan Rheney and by 1992 she was herself a new mother to daughter Maggie. Rheney says that being a busy OB/GYN and pregnant certainly made her have a greater understanding of the meaning of the word tired. “I really was more tired after I had Maggie than while I was pregnant, though,” said Rheney.

About six years ago, Rheney felt the call of family demands and gave up the obstetrics portion of her practice to focus more on women’s health and gynecology. “I really loved OB, but it was physically demanding and time-wise it took me away from my family more than I wanted to be,” said Rheney. “At the time, Maggie was starting middle school and I knew it would be a flash before she was graduating from high school, which she will do this spring. I wanted time with her and knew the only way to do that was to give up obstetrics.”

Rheney likes to say that she has aged with her practice and treats many women in her age range. Besides seeing pari- and post-menopausal women, Rheney is seeing a trend that she does not like — obesity.

“I am seeing so many more women who are overweight on a daily basis and in a much younger generation than in the past,” said Rheney. “I encourage all my patients to eat healthy and incorporate physical exercise into their lifestyle. I also give overweight patients a heart-to-heart talk about what they will have to deal with later on if they do not lose the weight and adopt a healthier lifestyle. From diabetes to heart problems to hypertension, the prognosis for those who are overweight is filled with medical problems.”

In an effort to expand its coverage of overall women’s health and address the rising number of overweight patients, the Woman’s Clinic offers a nutritional weight loss program, called the Ideal Protein Diet, that is medically supervised. The clinic began offering the program nearly a year ago after several staff members tried the program and had success with it.

“The Ideal Protein Diet offers several benefits besides weight loss. It lowers high cholesterol and high glucose levels and helps to re-establish pancreatic function. Some people are able to get off medications that treat those problems,” said Rheney, who encourages patients dealing with weight issues to attend a free informational session on the program to learn what it has to offer. “And, because it attacks fat cells instead of muscles, the diet also supports cellulite reduction and fat loss, while it maintains muscle mass. Patients like the diet because it provides rapid weight loss and increased energy.”

Rheney is also excited about another service the Women’s Clinic has started to offer its patients, on-site screening mammography services through the Pink Ribbon Mammography Center located in a suite on the basement floor of the clinic. With the added convenience of the center, patients can schedule their annual screening for the same day they are in the clinic for their annual exam. “Mammograms are an integral part of a woman’s health plan after age 40,” said Rheney. “And the Pink Ribbon Mammography Center just makes it so convenient.”

Rheney, who is a proponent of exercise and an avid runner, who runs an occasional 5K, walks a couple times a week with her dad. She is also a volleyball fan, both as a player and in the stands watching Maggie play for the District Champion Lady Bruins of the University School of Jackson. The Rheney clan also enjoys traveling, having made visits to Maine, Rhode Island, and Hawaii, with plans to visit Europe before Maggie heads off to college in the fall.

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