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| Contributed Photo Rep. Bernard Ayotte, second from left, and Rep. Allen Michael Nadeau listen to Dr. Shawn Laferriere, medical director of radiology, and Kristal Duval, RT(R)(M), mammography technologist at Cary Medical Center, explain the benefits of the new digital mammography machine and stereotactic breast biopsy systems in the hospital’s new Women’s Imaging Center at their open house on Feb. 2. |
By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — For just about a year now, Cary Medical Center has been engaged in a major project with the construction of a new Women’s Imaging Center. On Feb. 2 the new spa-like facility held an open house so that members of the community could get a firsthand look at the one-of-a-kind operation.
The project was borne out of a need to update Cary’s mammography and biopsy equipment and to make the experience of breast health screening less stressful for patients.
“We had a real need to improve the experience for women,” Cary CEO Kris Doody, RN, MSB commented. “Having a mammogram, especially if you are called back for follow-up, can cause a lot of anxiety.”
With a focus on patient comfort, convenience and privacy, the Women’s Imaging Center features the most advanced diagnostic mammography services in northern Maine, including the addition of state-of-the-art digital mammography and stereotactic breast biopsy systems and a unique patient navigator service.
“Our new patient navigator program is designed to enhance access to all aspects of breast care at Cary by helping to provide a more efficient delivery of care, improved sharing of resources and removal of barriers to care, all through enhanced relationships with each of our patients,” explained the manager of imaging and rehabilitation services at Cary, Leslie Anderson, PT, MSB.
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| Aroostook Republican Photo/Lisa Wilcox The new state-of-the-art mammography equipment at Cary Medical Center’s Women’s Imaging Center is designed to provide a more comfortable experience for patients and clearer images for a more precise diagnosis. |
“Our goal has been to not only bring advanced state-of-the-art technologies to northern Maine, but to also create an overall breast care program designed at improving the coordination of high-quality breast care. This means providing same-day diagnostic or follow-up mammography results for our patients, with the opportunity to meet with one of our radiologists and review their exam one-on-one so that each patient understands their results before they leave the center,” Anderson continued.
The new equipment features the Siemens Mammomat Inspiration Full-Field Digital Mammography and Siemens MammoTest Stereotactic Breast Biopsy Systems. The Mammomat Inspiration offers digital screening and diagnostic mammography, producing high-quality images designed to minimize the patient’s radiation dose and exposure time. There currently is no other unit of its kind north of Boston.
“We are very proud to bring the first fully digital, fixed-base stereotactic biopsy system to Cary and Aroostook County,” Dr. Shawn Laferriere, medical director of radiology at Cary, stated. “The new breast biopsy system allows for a minimally invasive procedure with increased patient comfort and has the ability of identifying the smallest calcifications, allowing for a more precise and efficient diagnosis.”
In addition to the new technology, the center provides a spa-like private patient waiting area featuring comfortable seating and background sounds of soothing music and an actual waterfall to ease nerves. Patients are provided with soft robes that keep modesty intact and changing rooms with personal locking armoires.
“The open house was a huge success,” said Cary’s community relations coordinator, Tami Kilcollins. “There was a steady stream of visitors for the full two hours of the event, and each woman was given a pink carnation.”
The $800,000 project was funded through a capital campaign project by the Jefferson Cary Foundation. The new center opened to patients in late December with donations totaling just over $780,000 to date from several sources, including both Cary and Pines Health Services employees, volunteers and board members, the Cary Ladies Auxiliary, the foundation and many corporate and community donations.
