Company News Room

Stop by the Providence Imaging Center booth this Sunday, February 28 to learn about mammogram parties and our Mobile Coach at the Cancer Center Open House that takes place from 1-5 p.m.  Enjoy the fun events and mini talks that are detailed in this PDF flyer.  We hope to see you there!

 

Dr. David Moeller, Providence Imaging Center radiologist, shares insights on breast cancer detection with digital mammography.  Mobile mammography with Jackie Hose, RT(M), is also discussed in this interview with Angela Gusty, KTVA reporter, on October 29, 2009.

What is 34 feet long, pink and white, and can sometimes be seen on the Alaska Marine Highway?  Providence Imaging Center's Mobile Digital Mammography Coach! The coach turns 3 years old in April and is busier than ever, bringing the latest breast cancer screening technology all over Southcentral Alaska.

In May, the coach will travel to the communities of Cordova, Valdez and Glennallen to provide screening mammography. Women in these communities would otherwise have to travel to Anchorage for their mammograms. Last spring, almost 140 women were screened. This will be the fifth time the coach has made this journey, and it is all carefully coordinated to ensure that things go smoothly. 

First, our mobile coordinator calculates a preliminary date to ensure that it has been at least a year since our last spring visit. This is to make sure that both screening and insurance criteria are met for these patients. The next step is to carefully check the ferry schedule to see which dates are available for transporting the coach. Then she compares that with the PIC schedule to make sure a mobile technologist is available for the journey.

Finally, she contacts the sites themselves to verify that the days and times are good for the community.

The technologist going this year is Barbara DeLongchamp RT (R)(M), who will be traveling for a solid week. She is driver, technologist and an ambassador to the communities she visits all wrapped into one.

"Driving the coach through the Whittier Tunnel is interesting. Sometimes it feels like the top of the vehicle is going to scrape against the rock ceiling. And maneuvering the coach onto the ferry requires a little outside help," quipped Barbara.

This year, the first stop will be Ilanka Community Health Center in Cordova, set for May 18-19.  Women who are interested contact us to pre-schedule their test, ensuring that they won't have to wait. Communication is a bit tricky in this part of the world, as cell phones often don't work. Updates on the day's schedule are faxed to the clinic, and the mammography technologist enters the pertinent information into the mammography equipment's computer.

Next stop, Providence Valdez Medical Center. The coach will travel by ferry again and see many more women over the next two and a half days. Many volunteers help to make sure things run smoothly in Valdez. Finally, Barbara will drive the coach about 70 miles over Thompson Pass to Cross Road Medical Center in Glennallen. With this site done, it's a mere 155 miles back to Anchorage, where the images will be uploaded for the radiologist to read, and the journey will be complete.

 

Providence Imaging Center (PIC) is proud to announce an open house for its new imaging center in the Eagle River community!

You're Invited!
We are honored to invite you to the grand opening of Providence Imaging Center in our new Eagle River location on Thursday, October 16, from 4 - 7 p.m. at 17101 Snowmobile Lane. Tour the entire facility, and learn more about the many services we now offer including CT, digital x-ray and mobile digital mammography. Enjoy refreshments, and receive a free flu shot as well! The ribbon cutting ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m.

Join us as we celebrate new services and programs, now even closer to you and your family!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and throughout the month CARRS/Safeway will host the Providence Imaging Center Mobile Mammography Coach at several of their Anchorage locations - Abbott, Aurora Village, Northway Mall, Sears and Muldoon.

 

Saturday, October 7,   9 a.m. - 5 p.m. , at CARRS Abbott

Monday, October 9,     9 a.m. - 5 p.m., at CARRS Aurora

Saturday, October 14, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., at CARRS Northway

Friday, October 27, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., at CARRS Sears

Monday, October 30,   9 a.m. - 5 p.m., at CARRS Muldoon

PIC's Digital Mobile Mammography screening is applicable if you are a woman age 40 years or older without specific breast concerns.  Screening mammography is NOT applicable if:

• You are pregnant or have breastfed within the last year
• You have symptoms such as a dominant lump/mass/lesion or nipple discharge that is clear or bloody
• You have a personal history of breast cancer
• You have had a stereo or ultrasound-guided biopsy in the past year
• You are due for special follow-up for a recent abnormal mammogram

Please note that we need the name of your healthcare provider to send the results to.  If you do not have a healthcare provider, call the Providence Physician Referral line at (907) 212-4900.

Call us at 212-3151 today to set up your appointment at one of these sites. Special grant funding is available for uninsured or underinsured women.

CARRS/Safeway and Providence Imaging Center:  Partnering together because early detection saves lives.

The latest medical advancement in the fight against breast cancer in Alaska will be unveiled at a ceremony at the Abbott Loop Carrs/Safeway Store at 1:00 pm on Thursday, May 4, 2006. Thanks to generous gifts from the customers and employees at Carrs/Safeway stores throughout the state, Providence has replaced its mobile mammography van with a 34-foot mobile medical coach, equipped with the latest digital imaging technology. Musher and breast cancer survivor Dee Dee Jonrowe will be on hand with Providence Chief Executive Al Parrish and Carrs/Safeway Director of Public Affairs Cherie Myers to celebrate this milestone.

The purchase of the $250,000 vehicle was made possible through a collaboration of Carrs/Safeway, Providence Alaska Foundation (PAF), Providence Imaging Center (PIC) and The Cancer Center at Providence Alaska Medical Center. Since 2003, Carrs/Safeway has raised more than $330,000 statewide for breast cancer. Approximately half of that has paid for free mammograms for uninsured and underinsured women in Alaska and the rest for funding the purchase of the mobile medical coach. That, combined with $85,000 in other donations to PAF, covered the entire cost of the coach. "Only because of the amazing generosity of Alaskans, this remarkable piece of equipment will soon be on the road. Carrs/Safeway has made a commitment to advance breast cancer programs in our state, and their customers and employees responded with a tremendous show of support. Those efforts, combined with many other donations made to our Foundation will make all the difference for the women of Alaska," said PAF President Susan Ruddy.

In order to upgrade to digital equipment, PIC invested an additional $326,000. The new equipment will allow women at the mobile clinics to receive the same high-quality image that women who come to their facility in Anchorage receive. "It is a great example of how, working together, we are able to provide the best care possible," said PIC Director Laura McDonough.

Prior to the arrival of the medical coach, the imaging equipment was transported from location to location by cargo van. In the past, sites had to be equipped with a private room, a waiting area and power to run the mammography unit. Now, the coach itself will provide all the necessary space. From the waiting area in front of the vehicle to the screened changing area next to the mammography station and the built-in diesel generators, the coach is completely self contained.

Since 1996, PIC has provided mobile mammography to a service area extending from Talkeetna to the Kenai Peninsula as well as to several communities along Alaska's Marine Highway Ferry System. "The key to saving lives is early detection, and even more than the cost of getting an annual screening, the greatest challenge in Alaska is access," said PIC Medical Director Dr. Denise Farleigh. "Unlike any other state in the country, the number one cause of death in Alaska is cancer. There are many contributing factors, but clearly limited access to regular screenings and preventative care in our more remote communities plays a significant role," she said