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The Breast Center at St. Mary’s
The Breast Center at Carondelet St. Mary’s helps set the revitalized hospital apart by providing comprehensive breast care to Southern Arizonans. The center is a multi-disciplinary, integrated group of independent radiologists, pathologists, medical and radiation oncologists and breast surgeons whose focus is the prevention, early detection and prompt treatment of breast disease. A patient navigator, experienced in breast health education, helps guide patients who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. “We encompass the whole scope of breast disease and – more specifically – breast cancer,” said Dr. Gerlinde Tynan, medical director of The Breast Center and the Breast Health Program at St. Mary’s. “Everything from the screening mammogram through biopsy, surgery to chemotherapy and radiation treatment, support groups and educational resources is handled under our auspices,” Tynan added. The Breast Center opened in 2012, the same year that the National Cancer Institute estimated there were 229,060 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in the United States, with 3,400 in Arizona. Imaging services are offered onsite, including digital mammography, breast ultrasound, bone densitometry, breast MRI and interventional breast procedures – stereotactic, ultrasound and MRI-guided breast biopsy. The Breast Center is unique in Southern Arizona in its use of high-tech imaging software, said Radiologist said Dr. Christopher Reed, radiologist. Physicians also offer patients the latest technology in treatment options including 5-day brachytherapy radiation, genetic testing, immediate breast reconstruction, cryoablation of fibroadenomas and participation in clinical trials. Also setting The Breast Center apart is the speed with which patients proceed from initial screening to follow-up treatment – usually 2 to 3 days between screening, diagnostic workup and surgical consult appointments. Each new cancer case is presented during a weekly conference and a custom treatment plan is created by the team of doctors. “Like any other area in medicine, we have patients asking, ‘Are you going to tell this to my doctor?’ The thing about The Breast Center is all your doctors are already there. The radiologist, the pathologist, the oncologist – we’re all familiar with your records,” said Dr. Robert Gin, a radiation oncologist. “It’s a team approach. Everything is integrated.”
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132 BizTucson
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Fall 2013
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Adapting and creating our new future is one way to honor our 133year legacy in this community. – Chris Castellano Executive VP & Chief Strategy Officer Carondelet Health Network
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continued from page 130 emergency services make up the bulk of patient care. Under the proactive team approach, Knapheide said the full continuum of care – primary care, acute care and chronic care management – will keep the community healthier. “It’s amazing how we’ve already turned a lot of the business (at Holy Cross) from inpatient to outpatient treatment,” Knapheide said. Outpatient care is less expensive and more appealing for patients who can recuperate in their own homes. “We have a patient-centric vision of identifying what our patients need and then defining what we need to do as a team to provide for those needs,” she said. As the longest serving executive leader with Carondelet, Beiter, with 20 years of service at St. Mary’s, has seen tremendous change in local healthcare. “Never have I been more excited about our direction than I am today,” she said. Watching a traditional healthcare practice move from operating in “silos” to the holistic, community-wide approach is “the right thing to do,” Beiter added. “The focus is now on the value of the care provided, as opposed to the volume a hospital produces – from volume to value,” she said. “Patient-centric care will bring tremendous benefits.” She cites the multi-disciplinary team approach that will provide one-stop service. She gave the example of The Breast Center at Carondelet St. Mary’s – a physician-led program in which doctors from across the breast cancer continuum are working in tandem to support the needs of each patient. There’s no disconnect from screening to survivorship for breast cancer patients, she said. Similar approaches are also in place at Carondelet Heart & Vascular Institute and Carondelet Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital. If passion and excitement are prescriptions for success, these women who stand at the forefront of Carondelet’s approach to community care will ensure that success is reached. They each said Carondelet’s innovation has reinvigorated their personal commitment to healthcare and renewed their dedication to the patients and the communities they serve. Beiter said the approach “reflects the heart and the quality of care on the part of everyone at Carondelet. It’s an outward demonstration of what we’ve always known. We are all proud of the direction we’re taking.” Said Castellano, “Our values, vision and mission set the context and provide fertile ground for innovation. Adapting and creating our new future is one way to honor our 133-year legacy in this community.”
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