Plymouth Campus Receives $50,000 from Ounce of Prevention

John Oliver III of Oliver Ford and Ounce of Prevention; Mickey Hoffer, Mammogram Tech; Joan Hunt, RN; Timothy Smith, Jen Houin of Ounce of Prevention; and Jessica Oliver of Ounce of Prevention

Breast cancer treatment at our Plymouth Campus was enhanced even more with a $50,000 donation from Marshall County’s Ounce of Prevention Foundation.

Ounce of Prevention has provided funds to the Plymouth Cancer Institute to help in the treatment of the disease as well as raising awareness of breast cancer and its effects in the community.

“We’ve been able to get some professional training we wouldn’t have had a chance to get otherwise,” said Mickey Hoffer, Mammography Tech. “All of us have been doing this for a long time but it really helps to get new ideas and information on how to position everything and get better mammograms. So much of it has to do with positioning.”

With donations like this, the Cancer Institute has been able to purchase a special use mammography chair that enables radiographers to position patients better and more comfortably. The Institute has also purchased supplies and educational tools that would not otherwise be available.

“We are very grateful for the Ounce of Prevention Foundation and their constant support of our cancer treatment initiatives,” said Lori Price, President of SJRMC Plymouth. “This is another great example of two local institutions working together for the good of our communities.”

Cancer Program Achieves Accreditations

Excellence in care is not the work of one physician, one nurse or one procedure. It is the end result of a multi-disciplinary team working with the right resources, towards a common goal.

The Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center Cancer Program allows for efficient communication between medical specialties in order to make the best decisions for each individual patient. Here, our patients are part of the team as we work through the treatment and care process with them.

Most recently, SJRMC achieved two accreditations that differentiate our Oncology program: 

• Commission on Cancer 3-year Accreditation Award with Commendation 
• National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC)

Both of these distinctions are from the American College of Surgeons, and we are extremely proud of our Physician and Clinical leadership who together delivered these outstanding results.

SJRMC Oncology Staff

The standards include proficiency in the areas of: center leadership, clinical management, research, community outreach, professional education, and quality improvement.  A breast center that achieves NAPBC accreditation has demonstrated a firm commitment to offer its patients every significant advantage in their battle against breast disease.

We are proud of our accomplishments, and as 2011 approaches we strive to continue to advance patient care services.

Thank you to our expert Physicians, Medical and Nursing staff, and supportive services that work so hard to deliver quality care and the best possible outcomes.

Spotlight On: Mammography & the MMU

Kudos to the staff of the Mobile Medical Unit, including Mammography Tech Denise Hammerquist,  for her excellent work not only as a technician, but also for delivering compassionate, personalized patient care.

In Fiscal Year 2009, the MMU provided 505 screening mammograms. In 2010, Denise and the MMU provided 993. What’s more, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 2010, Denise did 203 screening mammograms – double the number of mammograms from last October!

A patient recently offered this testimonial about Denise:

“I have walked out of mammogram after mammogram in tears. This woman was so wonderful. I could hardly tell she was giving me a mammogram, and then it was over. She was so great and she needs to be acknowledged for her care.”

Thank you Denise for increasing prevention and early detection of breast cancer to so many in our community. Thank you for being a wonderful representative of SJRMC!

Learn more about the MMU at http://www.sjmed.com/medicalservices/mmu/

Real Stories: Making your health a priority, not a hassle

Too important to put off: Making your health a priority, not a hassle
By May Lee Johnson
South Bend Tribune, March 25, 2010

Last week my soul cried.

I don’t know why I had avoided being checked for breast cancer for so long.

Maybe I was afraid and didn’t want to know. But whenever my doctor asked about a mammogram, I had an excuse.

Finally, she stopped listening. If I didn’t get one, she would drop me as a patient.

Reluctantly, I made an appointment with the mobile unit from Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center that visits the parking lot of the Sister Maura Brannick CSC Health Center on Chapin Street.

The day of my appointment, I was late. I’ll come back some other day, I told the nurse.

But she told me to stay. When she finished with another patient, she would be ready for me. It would only take a minute.

She was right. The procedure was simple and quick. After it was over, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I didn’t realize I was beginning a couple of the toughest weeks of my life.

A day or so after the mammogram, I got a message that they needed more images. They had found something. I was told to make an appointment to get a bilateral mammogram at the hospital.

Nothing could prepare me for sitting in that room, waiting to go in for the exam. I have never been in a room where no one would speak. Women flipped through their books, but no one was reading a word.

I just wanted to get it over with. Finally, I went in. A technician explained everything she was doing. I didn’t care about that. I just wanted to know if she was finding anything.

She told me there were a few areas the radiologist wanted to magnify. She advised me to go back into the waiting room while they looked at the pictures, but don’t get dressed yet.

She was right. I had to go back for more X-rays. By now, my stress level was way out of whack.

The good thing was that they read the pictures right there. That’s when I found out I would need a biopsy - but it would be about a week before I could get one.

That gave me more time to worry. Am I going to die? Who would take care of Annie? What is dying like?

Things got so bad that one day, as I sat worrying about everyone around me, Annie looked at a friend and said, “Who is this woman and what did she do with my Mama?”

I was caught in a storm that followed me wherever I went. I couldn’t shake the thoughts of cancer. I wasn’t sure I had the inner strength to fight cancer.

Finally, Friday came and I went in for the biopsy results. A friend, Sister Sue, was there waiting for me. Her calm and reassuring manner helped me survive the agonizing week.

Right away, my nurse told me the good news: The growth in my breast was benign.

I had been holding back tears, my heart racing. But at that moment, a waterfall streamed down my face.

I was too stunned to say anything. But as I composed myself, I thought of two things.

One, my heart goes out to all those who didn’t get the same good news that I did.

Secondly, I made a promise: I need to love myself as much as I have loved others. I won’t delay my next exam.

For years I had avoided the mammogram because of what I might learn. But good news or bad, we owe ourselves the truth.

Even if you’re afraid, please check it out. It could save your life.

You can listen to May Lee Johnson live at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays on WUBS, 89.7-FM. 

Unscheduled Mammogram Turns Into A "Lifesaver"

Mobile Medical Unit

Shortly after SJRMC launched its Mobile Medical Unit in 2006, the hospital’s 40-foot-long clinic on wheels, Carla Bice figured she might as well do a little leading by example. 

The vehicle, which goes into neighborhoods throughout St. Joseph and Marshall Counties providing healthcare to those who may not have a means of getting to a doctor’s office, comes complete with mammography capabilities. On this particular day, it was parked at the Sister Maura Brannick, CSC, Health Center, one of SJRMC’s clinics, located on South Bend’s near Westside. Carla is the Health Center’s Director.

“The lady who was scheduled to have a mammogram cancelled at the last minute,” explained Carla. “So, I decided to go ahead and have one done myself. I didn’t want to see the scheduled time wasted, and I was overdue to have my mammogram anyway.”

Carla’s decision to take advantage of this mammogram by chance turned out to be one of the best choices she ever made.

“After the mammogram, they found something,” Carla said. “It was very small, but they did find something.”

That small “something” prompted the radiologist to recommend a biopsy. The biopsy revealed to Carla the very early stages of breast cancer.

Seven weeks of radiation treatment and today, two years later, Carla is cancer-free.

“I was very fortunate for two reasons,” Carla said patting, the hood of the Mobile Medical Unit. “One, the Mobile Medical Unit was here and two, that lady backed out of her mammogram appointment. This big rig is my lifesaver on wheels.”

Recently, SJRMC’s Mobile Medical Unit celebrated its second birthday.

“At Saint Joseph, we are constantly working to improve the health of our communities,” said Nancy R. Hellyer, SJRMC’s President and CEO. “We welcome any opportunity to help those void of healthcare because they simply have no way of coming to us. I am proud to say that with the Mobile Medical Unit, we are coming to you.”

The state of the art Mobile Medical Unit houses a medical exam area and a digital mammography unit, plus an area for intake, information, and health education. The Mobile Medical Unit is also used in partnership with area cancer program’s, women’s health services, and community programs that welcome the vehicle to their area, and to provide corporate wellness programs on-site. And in just two years, the vehicle has traveled nearly 20,000 miles serving over 2,000 patients.

“The continued success of the Mobile Medical Unit is due to the incredible dedication of all of our Associates involved with it,” said Michelle Peters, SJRMC’s Director of Community Outreach Services. “It is really very rewarding to see the community have access to healthcare in a convenient, safe atmosphere and we look forward to the Mobile Medical Unit providing these unique services throughout the communities for years to come.”