The Foundation at East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH) helped celebrate the opening of the newly renovated and expanded state-of-the-art Breast Care Center, an important benchmark in addressing a growing need in the community it serves.
The Foundation, the fundraising arm of the hospital, raised more than $300,000 for the project, receiving support from its Live Pink breast care funding program, incorporating community events, individual and corporate donations and employee giving campaigns.
The redesign was based around the goal of giving patients a more comfortable and stress-free atmosphere in which to receive the care they need and deserve.
“EJGH treats more breast cancer in women than any other type,” said Dr. Mark Peters, President and CEO of East Jefferson General Hospital. “We were facing a truly distressing circumstance of treating these patients in areas that too small, and that no longer could manage the larger volume of patients. This was such a perfect project for the community and our donors to get behind.
“Post renovation, we can now treat our patients with the best technology available and in a soothing, calm environment.”
The renovations included a second patient registration desk, a third mammography suite with a 3D mammography unit, additional waiting rooms for screening and diagnostic mammogram patients, a new upright stereotactic biopsy devise, an additional specimen radiography system to reduce procedure time and purchased a new and improved bone densitometry unit.
“This renovation is monumental to breast care in our area,” said EJGH radiologist Dr. Carol Anne Luttrell. “Our state of the art equipment and multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer by East Jefferson’s top notch surgeons, oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, and pathologists makes East Jefferson’s Breast Care Center the premiere center in this region.”
The facility, an American College of Radiology accredited institution, now has the capacity to expand on the over 11,000 mammograms, 3,800 ultrasounds and 500 image guided biopsies performed by the breast care center each year.