Saint Agnes to Open $1.3m Diagnostic Breast Center By Fall

By Jeff St. John, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Jun. 28–Saint Agnes Medical Center plans to celebrate today the construction of a $1.3 million Diagnostic Breast Center, part of a larger expansion of its mammography and breast cancer treatment programs.

The new 2,000-square-foot center in Saint Agnes’ Plaza Surgical Center is set to open this fall and will feature cutting-edge technology and procedures for breast cancer diagnosis and intervention, spokeswoman Kelley Sanchez said.

As part of an overhaul of Saint Agnes’ breast cancer program, the Diagnostic Breast Center also will be an important part of Saint Agnes Medical Center’s conversion from traditional film to an all-digital system, said Todd Croeker, picture archiving and communications system administrator.

“This is a first step for us in converting” to digital, Croeker said. “That’s why we’re so excited about it.”

The medical center is moving to digital systems for storing diagnostic images and data, which should allow for faster diagnoses and smoother transfer of information, he said.

The move to digital also includes new screening devices and new software to aid in diagnoses, he said.

The center’s location in Plaza Surgical Center also will be a welcome change for patients who otherwise would have to walk from one building to another when receiving surgical tests, Sanchez noted.

A new pathology lab within the Diagnostic Breast Center will allow for faster results on tests, she said.

The reporter can be reached at jeffstjohn@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6637.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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