« All NewsLexington Medical Center Hosts Open House Celebration for new Mammography Van
April 21, 2010
WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. – Lexington Medical Center has a new, state-of-the-art, mobile mammography van that will travel throughout the Midlands providing mammograms to the community. The van is an example of the best technology available for mobile mammography vans and a benchmark for other vans around the country.
Lexington Medical Center will host an open house and tour of the van on Thursday, April 29, 2010 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Lexington Medical Park 1, 2728 Sunset Boulevard, West Columbia, S.C. There will be a ribbon cutting for the new mammography van at 5:45 p.m. Van tours will take place from 6 to 7 p.m.
The new 43-foot van features electric steps with a porch and awning as well as updated modern décor such as hardwood floors, leather seats, a banquette, window treatments and two dressing rooms. The porch makes entering and exiting the van easier for patients and staff, and because it has two dressing rooms, patients are able to move more efficiently. Also, the cab is more open, creating a more comfortable space for patients and technologists. Most importantly, the van provides digital mammography, which can detect spots as small as a grain of sand.
The Lexington Medical Center Volunteer Auxiliary donated the van to Lexington Medical Center. The Lexington Medical Center Foundation will also be supporting the mobile mammography van by funding its maintenance and purchasing items such as a laptop computer for patient registration and a GPS system.
The new van will replace the hospital’s existing one, which has provided quality mammography services for the past 11 years.
"The mobile mammography van will provide the same quality mammography services for women at their work place, which will reduce their time away from work," says Frankie Haygood, mammography supervisor. The van travels to approximately 84 sites around the Midlands including community medical centers, Lexington Family Practice locations, schools and businesses. Last year, approximately 2,500 patients received mobile mammography services.
The new mobile mammography van is even serving as a standard to other health care organizations around the country. Farber, the company that manufactured the van, will feature it at the Radiological Society of North America convention in November.
Lexington Medical Center is a leader in the fight against breast cancer. Our Women's Imaging center, with four locations around Lexington County, is designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology. Lexington Medical Center is also home to the unique “Five Day Detection to Diagnosis” program, where a team of clinicians provides answers about the health of a woman’s breast within five days after the detection of a lump or abnormality.
According to estimates from the American Cancer Society, more than 40,000 people died from breast cancer in the United States in 2009. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer at some time in her life is a little less than one in eight. But, because of education, technology and early detection, breast cancer death rates have been going down. Right now, there are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.
Lexington Medical Center, in West Columbia, S.C., anchors a county-wide health care network that includes six community medical centers throughout Lexington County and employs a staff of 5,200 health care professionals. The network also includes the largest extended care facility in the Carolinas, two occupational health centers and more than 40 physician practices. At its heart is the 414-bed state-of-the-art Lexington Medical Center, with a reputation for the highest quality care. Lexington Medical Center won "Best Hospital" by readers of The State for ten years in a row, "Best Hospital" by readers of the Free Times, "Best Place to Have a Baby" by readers of Palmetto Parent, the "Consumer Choice Award" from the National Research Corporation and the prestigious "Summit Award" from Press Ganey.
