Ellen Hermanson Breast Center Opens
(08/06/2009) Boxes were still being unpacked and offices being moved this week as the new Southampton Hospital’s Ellen Hermanson Breast Center opened yesterday with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
 Jennifer Landes Photos
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A welcome change from the previous space devoted solely to mammograms, the new 3,300-square-foot center is dedicated entirely to women’s health issues, including breast health and bone density as well.
According to Dr. William Brancaccio, chairman of radiology at Southampton, women at other facilities might have to wait days or weeks for additional tests and results if they feel a lump or have a bad mammogram. By offering mammography, sonograms, and needle biopsies within feet of each other, the hospital hopes to cut wait times down to a few days from mammogram to biopsy to results.
A room dedicated to reading the radiology test results also cuts down on waiting periods. “This is one area where you don’t want to wait. The addition of three to seven days is not likely to affect the outcome [of a positive result], but those extra days of thinking about it are torture,” he said.
The center, which has private waiting areas and dressing rooms, allows patients to move freely from test to test rather than having to get dressed to walk down a public hallway. The new walls, flooring, and finishes are light colored and have a cheerful, airy feel.
Over the past few years, the hospital has purchased new equipment such as digital mammography machines as they became available and the money was raised. Those machines were placed in different areas around radiology or in the hospital’s surgical wing. In the new center, Dr. Brancaccio said, “no new equipment has been added, it’s just been consolidated.”
New patient examination areas, as well as space for mammograms, sonograms, biopsies, and bone density screenings, are all part of the new center.
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A dedicated group of local individuals has supported the effort from the beginning. Susie Roden, who founded the Southfork Breast Health Coalition, will serve as the center’s community outreach coordinator and “certified patient navigator.” She will help guide patients and survivors through the many programs available to those coping with the disease.
Also moving into offices at the center this week were Dr. Edna Kapenhas-Valdes, the medical director and a breast surgeon, and Emily Smith, a genetics counselor.
The center is named for Ellen P. Hermanson, who was a strong advocate for the needs of breast cancer survivors, and died of the the disease herself. Her sister, Julie Ratner, has carried on her legacy through the foundation named for Ms. Hermanson, which has supported breast health services at the hospital since its inception. A 5K race in honor of Ms. Hermanson, Ellen’s Run, will be held on Aug. 16.