A park dedicated to women of central Ohio will be completed within the next two to three months according to Pinky Davis, director of Health and Lifestyle Enhancement at Ohio State.The Spirit of Women Park will be bounded by Dodd Hall, McCampbell Hall, University Hospitals Clinic and the School of Allied Medical Profession. Its main feature will be 15 panels of tiles that are 5 to 6 feet tall, connected by water channels. The tiles have been purchased by people throughout the Columbus area and are dedicated to women who have made a difference in their lives.”The park was a way for the medical center to bring recognition and attention to all the women in central Ohio,” Davis said.She added that approximately 2,200 tiles were sold, and people could learn how to paint them in painting sessions, or parties, that took place throughout the Columbus community.Davis said selling the tiles was a fundraising effort to help fund the project, but the tiles will also give the park a personal touch.One tile was dedicated to Janet Oberliesen, former development officer/administrative coordinator for the Chadwick Arboretum. It was presented to her at her retirement from OSU in January 2000.”She encapsulates the spirit of women and not only women, of everyone. She was always warm, kind, and an incredible motivator,” said Mary Maloney, volunteer coordinator for Chadwick Arboretum.According to Maloney, Oberliesen returned to OSU in 1984 to complete her degree in horticulture after raising five children.While at OSU she raised $6 million, rallied volunteers, dedicated a meditative Labyrinth Garden, mentored students, and inspired others to understand the role of plants in healing and providing respite.Oberliesen continues to actively contribute to horticulture as an educator and collaborator among many allied disciplines such as pharmacology, art, landscape architecture, marketing, anthropology, music and botany.Davis said the idea for the Spirit of Women Park came out of the National Center for Excellence in Women’s Health. “These centers are ideal models of how you can deliver all a women’s needs,” Davis said.Women need different doctors to address specific needs and the center has combined all those doctors into one facility, Davis explained.The center incorporates multicultural programs as well. For example, a two-hour workshop is offered to black women about their higher incidence for risk of diabetes, hypertension and lupus.Davis said other initiatives are to encourage women to participate in gender specific research and to mentor female medical students and female physicians.The center was established about three years ago and women can obtain more information by calling the women’s resource line at 293-7575.According to the project Web site, the Spirit of Women Park will be completed by Dec. 26, 2000, and will cost approximately $1.2 million to construct.