New Breast Care Center opens on the Salem Hospital campus
Oct 03, 2024
October 1 ribbon cutting ceremony celebrates the new space, featuring expanded capacity
(Salem, Ore. – October 2, 2024) – Breast cancer care at Salem Health gets a new location and expanded space to serve the more than 400 patients each year, from diagnosis to survivorship, who we care for at the Salem Health Breast Care Center.
Salem Health Hospitals and Clinics marked the opening of the Breast Care Center with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, October 1 at 10:00 a.m. The new location for the Breast Care Center adds a dedicated space including larger exam rooms and two procedure rooms to continue to provide high quality, multidisciplinary care from the team which includes a breast surgeon, physician assistant and breast nurse navigators.
“Patients need access to high-quality breast care within their own community in a dedicated space with everything staff and providers need to deliver excellent care,” said Patricia Luckeroth, MD, breast surgeon and medical director, Salem Health Breast Care Center.
Salem Health’s breast cancer program has been accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) since 2010. The Salem Health Breast Care Center was first established in 2019 within the Gynecologic Oncology clinic space, and both programs continue to grow, outgrowing the shared space.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. Salem Health’s cancer program sees more than 400 breast cancer patients each year, representing the largest cancer disease site Salem Health sees among the top five cancers – breast, lung, prostate, colon and bladder cancers.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony featured comments from Cheryl Nester Wolfe, president and CEO, Salem Health Hospitals and Clinics; Patricia Luckeroth, MD, surgeon and the center’s medical director; and a moving presentation from one of our breast cancer patients. Following, guests were invited to tour the new clinic located on the ground floor of Building C on the Salem Hospital campus.
Katie’s story
An event highlight was a guest presentation from one of Salem Health’s breast cancer patients, Katie Schmidt, sharing her inspiring story of her experience walking through her cancer journey at Salem Health. A relatively young cancer patient, Katie was first diagnosed at age 44. “I was the youngest in the chemo room every round of chemo,” said Katie.
From her diagnosis to breast cancer surgery in 2023, and through continuing treatments Katie says, “I truly had the most amazing experience out of the ugliest thing that could happen. I never once felt like I was rushed. It was amazing, it felt like I had my own entourage of advocates. I never even had to make an appointment; they did all of that for me.” She adds, “If anyone has to go through cancer, I hope they’re getting care in Salem. They’re going to get the best care they can right there.”
The new Breast Care Center space was designed to support the goals of Salem Health’s breast care program, including:
- Keep care local
- Provide high quality, multidisciplinary care
- Follow evidence-based guidelines and best practices
- Ensure positive patient experience, providing services through the cancer care continuum from diagnosis to survivorship
- Breast Nurse Navigators provide support and identify financial, psychosocial, spiritual, educational and other practical needs
- Assess for genetic risk
- Connect patients with community resources for breast fittings and prosthetics
Staff are looking forward to providing care in the new clinic, noting even some small design details that make a big difference to patients’ comfort like an oversized restroom to accommodate a wheelchair, space for the scale in a location that provides privacy, and even a full-wall photo with a calming nature scene.