Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth announces plans to unveil a comprehensive breast center in the Tarrant County community. The Joan Katz Breast Center will serve the community and surrounding areas by providing men and women, diagnosed with breast cancer, services for every aspect of treatment from screenings to patient and family support groups.
"We look forward to working closely with local physicians, breast cancer survivors, our patients and members of our community to provide hope and quality treatment for the many women afflicted with breast cancer," said Steve Newton, president of Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth.
Named on behalf of breast cancer survivor, Joan Katz, the Center will serve patients and their families by developing interaction between multiple specialists and services in one centralized location. Patients of the Center will be given a nurse navigator who will assist them in coordinating services from initial diagnosis through final treatment and follow-ups.
"The Center will be a vehicle that can facilitate the comprehensive care and treatment for the breast cancer patients in the community," said Anita Chow, M.D., an oncology surgeon on the medical staff at Baylor All Saints. "As a physician who treats patients with breast cancer, it is an honor and an exciting opportunity to be involved in The Joan Katz Breast Center project."
The All Saints Health Foundation intends to conduct a $2.4 million campaign for the construction and operational expenses, along with an $11 million endowment campaign. The Foundation plans to invest the endowment funds into the on-going operational and program needs of the Center.
The facility, to be located on the first floor of the medical office building, will offer comprehensive breast services by permitting the patient to utilize the multiple facilities at Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth.
"With the opening of the Andrews Women's Hospital, Baylor All Saints has made an enormous commitment to this community on behalf of women. This commitment continues with the Joan Katz Breast Center – a unique facility to Fort Worth," said All Saints Health Foundation President Freddy Jones. "We are very grateful to Joan Katz, who is more than just an advocate and believer – she is a survivor who has taken on the mission of sowing hope to all those diagnosed with breast cancer."
The Center plans to begin serving the community in late 2009. The Breast Center will offer diagnostics and care under unified leadership, the latest advanced mammography equipment, dedicated breast radiologists, nurse navigator and social work services for efficiently guiding men and women through individualized breast care.
Sherree Bennett, the nurse navigator for The Joan Katz Breast Center, said, "I am blessed to work with such a tremendous team of professionals as we navigate women through the troubled waters of breast cancer. As both a registered nurse and a survivor, I am able to offer empathy, education and support for the journey. The Joan Katz Breast Center will be a wonderful refuge for men and women facing breast cancer, their loved ones and our community."
The not-for-profit Baylor All Saints Medical Centers serve more than 100,000 people annually through two hospitals, numerous primary care physician centers and practices, a rehabilitation and fitness center, and a variety of medical specialties. Programs of excellence in cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology and women's services form the heart of the hospitals' services. All Saints joined Baylor Health Care System in January 2002. All Saints Health Foundation, a separately incorporated not-for-profit organization, raises and manages charitable funds to support Baylor All Saints Medical Centers. For fiscal year 2007, Baylor Health Care System reported $390 million* in community benefit, which includes providing care for charity patients and patients enrolled in government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the unreimbursed costs of medical education, research and community programs. For a physician referral, call toll free 1-800-4BAYLOR or use our on-line physician directory.
*Represents preliminary information that will be reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Physicians are members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Health Care System's subsidiary, community or affiliated medical centers and are neither employees nor agents of those medical centers, Baylor All Saints Medical Center or Baylor Health Care System.
Contact: Mary Johnson, (817) 922-7088 or Sunny Drenik, (817) 922-7100
Email: maryjohn@baylorhealth.edu or sunnydr@baylorhealth.edu
About Baylor Scott & White Health
As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family and community it serves. It is committed to making quality care more accessible, convenient and affordable through its integrated delivery network, which includes the Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and its leading digital health platform – MyBSWHealth. Through 51 hospitals and more than 1,200 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing more than a century ago, Baylor Scott & White today serves more than three million Texans. For more information, visit: BSWHealth.com