GBMC: A Leader in Breast Care

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, so it’s fitting that I write about the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Comprehensive Breast Care Center at GBMC. Since its inception, the Center has provided evidence-based care with kindness and compassion. Led by Director, Lauren A. Schnaper, MD, and Associate Director, Sara P. Fogarty, DO, the Breast Center team uses education and support to take some of the fear out of a breast cancer diagnosis. Aided by their colleagues, Angela M. Murrell, CRNP, and Barbara Raksin, RN, they have been delivering multidisciplinary care since before it was the standard for breast centers. The Center was designed with breast imaging capabilities and radiologists, who are experts in diseases of the breast, co-located within the breast surgeons’ office space. This facilitates quicker diagnoses through same-day needle biopsies and expert second opinions on abnormal imaging.

Patients learn about their therapeutic options and the incumbent risks and benefits. The team works to remove cancer and leave the smallest and least obtrusive scars possible, helping patients heal more quickly and mentally move forward after their treatment. The Center is proud of its cure rates and cosmetic results. Breast conservation is very important at our Center and the team’s mastectomy rate is less than 30 percent.

The Breast Center collaborates with other members of the GBMC Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute, including social workers, integrative care providers, and oncology support staff. They also collaborate with medical and radiation oncologists and pathologists to diagnose, treat, and follow hundreds of women with new diagnoses of breast cancer every year. This group of talented professionals has an extremely collegial working relationship that allows them to provide outstanding and compassionate care to every patient. Let me thank them for all that they do for GBMC and for our patients.

Thank you!!!
This week, I would like to express my gratitude to the men and women who work hard to keep the patients and staff fed. This group of employees does much of its work “behind the scenes,” but the impact on our hospital and patient care is truly vital. So, as part of Healthcare Foodservice Week (Oct. 6-12), when you see members of our food service staff, please thank them and tell them what a great job they’re doing!

Please join me in celebrating all GBMC physician assistants (PAs) this week during National PA Week (Oct. 6-12). This is the week when PAs celebrate their profession and showcase the value they bring to today’s healthcare team. Let me thank our PAs for their commitment to their patients and for all their hard work every day.

This week is also Healthcare Supply Chain Week (Oct. 7-13), which celebrates resource and materials management professionals for their important contributions to healthcare. During Lean Daily Management (LDM) this week, I visited with our materials management team, led by Kendrick Wiggins, Kevin Edwards, our Supervisors of Materials Management, Brian Riemer, our Director of Materials Management, Ginger Brooks, our Clinical Manager of Value Analysis, and Michelle Bunty, our Purchasing Manager. I am so grateful for their work and that of those who work with them. We all benefit from the work of our entire supply chain team. Thanks for everything you do every day to assure that we have the supplies we need to get the job done.

Congratulations Dr. Semenza!!
I would like to congratulate Dr. Gregg Semenza, Director of the Vascular Research Program at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering. He was one of a trio of researchers who, on Monday, was awarded this year’s prestigious Nobel Prize in Medicine. Dr. Semenza and his colleagues won this award for their pioneering work into how human cells respond to changing oxygen levels. Their research has been instrumental in understanding the mechanisms of disease, especially in anemia, stroke, myocardial infarction, and cancer. Congratulations Dr. Semenza!