Steward Rolls Out Mobile 3D Mammography Center
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio — With its new 3D Mobile Mammography Center ready to roll, Steward Health Care is bringing the latest in early breast cancer detection to Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
At an open house Friday, stakeholders and reporters got an early look at the $750,000 mobile mammography center, which was parked at the Steward Health Center, 20 Ohltown Road.
Steward schedules appointments at the center here from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and at the Steward Health Center, Elm Road Center for Radiology from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. That center is at 2600 state Route 5, Building B, Cortland.
Steward will still offer 2D mammography services, but now 3D mammography will be an option for patients as well, said Shelly Lamb, operations manager of medical imaging at Trumbull Regional Medical Center. The difference between the services is that 3D takes very slow, slender images of breast tissue and reconstructs the image for the radiologist, she said.
This makes more dense breast tissue easier to see and helps reduce the chances for callbacks, she said.
“It’s almost like they’re paging through a book,” Lamb said. “It decreases the chances for mysteries.”
The semi tractor trailer-sized mobile center provides Genius 3D Mammography services by Hologic Inc., a Massachusetts-based medical equipment company. Hologic will train Steward’s existing mammography technicians to get them up to speed on the new equipment, Lamb said.
The mobile center also features a reception area, private changing rooms and a lift to help with accessibility for all patients.
Gallery images include a lift to help patients with access, reception area, 3D mammography equipment, a private changing room, contact information, and a group photo with Pamela Marshall, director of business development, physician liaison/professional outreach, Trumbull Regional Medical Center; Shawn Smith, owner/member, Associates in Medical Imaging LLC; Alexa Polinsky, marketing director, Steward Health Care; John Guarnieri, board member; Shelly Lamb, operations manager of medical imaging at Trumbull Regional Medical Center; Dave Oravec, assistant chief operating officer, Sharon Regional Medical Center; Cindy Russo, chief operating officer, OH/PA region, Steward Health Care.
Associates in Medical Imaging LLC manages the equipment on the bus, as well as the transportation of the mobile unit. Innovation Exhibits Inc., Boardman, designed and applied the graphic wrap for the vehicle.
In addition to the two daily locations, Steward wants to get the mobile center out into the community, said Pamela Marshall, director of business development, physician liaison/professional outreach for Trumbull Regional. The health system looks to have the center at the annual Austintown 4th of July parade, as well as the Trumbull County Fair.
“We’ll probably hit Trumbull and Mahoning County as much as we can,” Marshall said.
Eventually, they plan to get the center into other parts of the community to increase access to the service, particularly to underserved populations, added Alexa Polinsky, marketing director, Steward Health Care.
More patients prefer to get mammograms at outpatient clinics rather than hospitals, Polinsky said. That drove Steward’s decision to have a mobile 3D clinic stationed at the two outpatient clinics she said.
“Over the past year or two, with COVID, so many people put off their health care and preventive cancer screenings like mammograms,” Polinsky said. “So having something like this, obviously helps reach more community members.”
Steward expects the center will serve 35 patients daily at each location, she noted.
Pictured at top: Shelly Lamb, operations manager of medical imaging at Trumbull Regional Medical Center, says the 3D Mobile Mammography Center will serve patients at Steward Health’s outpatient centers in Austintown and Cortland.
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