State-of-the-art breast health center opens

Photo by meghan erkkinen

ADVANCED IMAGING. John Peixotto is one of several mammographers who will review and interpret images at the newly opened Carol Milgard Breast Center. The center offers state-of-the-art care, from screening to diagnosis, for breast health patients.

Three years ago, the Carol Milgard Breast Center (CMBC) was simply the vision of one radiologist. But the center is now a reality, thanks to a partnership between Franciscan Health System, MultiCare Health System and TRA Medical Imaging.

The Carol Milgard Breast Center was the vision of Dr. Khai Tran, a radiologist who now serves as the facility’s medical director. The center, which will provide women and men around the region with state-of-the-art breast health screening and diagnostics, opened to patients Feb. 23, after three years of planning and coordination.

“This will be the place women will want to come to get the best technology and screening available,” said Alexis Wilson, executive director of the center. “We take a lot of pride in having the latest and highest quality medical technology that is available at this time.”

The center will offer screening and diagnostic services such as digital mammography, breast ultrasound, breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and breast biopsy, as well as bone density services.

“The goal here is to shorten the time between screening and diagnosis,” Wilson said. “Theoretically a woman could come here for her mammogram and the radiologist could read it right there…Instead of waiting (several) weeks, sometimes we could do it in a day or a week.”

For women undergoing screening and diagnostics for breast cancer, one of the most difficult challenges is the wait time between the screening and the diagnosis, Wilson added. The decreased wait time will make a huge difference for many women, she said.

The CMBC also has some top-of-the-line and specialized equipment, including an MRI machine specifically designed to take images of the breast. The machine is the only one in the area. The center also offers a resource library for patients with new diagnoses, or who simply want to learn more about breast health.

The center’s administration anticipates they will perform about 60,000 procedures a year, and that 90 percent of those will be mammograms. The center expects to serve 150 to 200 patients a day.

Although the vast majority of patients with breast health issues are women, the center also plans on accommodating male patients, as 1 of every 1,000 breast cancer cases is diagnosed in a man.

The three-story CMBC building is located on South 19th Street near Foss High School and Fred Meyer. The building and the technology it houses cost about $16 million. Of that cost, the Gary E. Milgard Family Foundation donated $5 million toward capital costs, and the Franciscan and MultiCare health systems both donated about $6 million. The Milgard Foundation also dedicated $5 million a year over five years toward operations and continuing improvements.

The first floor features mammography screening rooms and a bone density exam room. It also features the breast MRI machine.

The second floor features diagnostic equipment. It accommodates diagnostic mammography rooms, where doctors can take closer looks at patients’ mammograms. Also on the second floor are breast ultrasound machines, a biopsy room, the radiologist reading room and the resource library.

The third floor houses administrative offices and a community and education conference room, where health care professionals will gather for meetings and conferences on breast health and other subjects.

The building was designed with patients’ comfort in mind.

“We’ve really tried very hard to keep a pleasing, calm, dignified and respectful atmosphere,” Wilson said. “It is an atmosphere designed to maximize calm.”

After patients check in with reception, for example, they are directed into dressing rooms with soft lighting and calming images. Many of the screening and diagnostic rooms feature pleasing images of flowers or tranquil water.

The building is also designed with quiet and private rooms for patients recovering from more invasive procedures, such as biopsies. The resource library also has various tools to inform and comfort. Models, brochures and posters provide information on conditions and procedures, and computers have Internet access that direct patients to more information.

The center employs between 40 and 50 staff, who work the equivalent hours of 32 full-time employees. Each day, three to four radiologists who are specially trained in mammography will review breast images to screen and diagnose.

The partners in the center’s creation – MultiCare, Franciscan and TRA – are coordinating breast care services in the area. Screening mammography will be offered at MultiCare Gig Harbor Medical Park, St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor and TRA Lakewood, and patients will be forwarded to the CMBC for further care, if necessary. In an effort to promote the center, and because many of the area’s breast health specialists are now employed there, mammography services will no longer be offered at many local hospitals and medical centers, including Tacoma General, Allenmore and St. Joseph.

The Carol Milgard Breast Center is located at 4525 S. 19th Street. For more information on the center or to schedule an appointment, call (253) 759-2622 or visit http://www.carolmilgardbreastcenter.org.

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