ALTOONA — UPMC Altoona has introduced the county’s first comprehensive breast health service with the creation of the UPMC Altoona Breast Health Center, which offers women a totally new, female-centered and enhanced patient care experience at Station Medical Center.
The focus of the new Breast Health Center’s staff, including a board-certified general surgeon specializing in breast disease, will be to provide compassionate care for women by listening, understanding, caring and taking the time needed for optimal patient care, says Ron McConnell, chief operating officer at UPMC Altoona.
The new Breast Health Center caregiving team will provide the latest education and treatment advice from the world-class research of UPMC and from throughout the world of breast cancer research.
This leading-edge knowledge will guide UPMC Altoona’s first dedicated breast surgeon, Dianna Craig, M.D., whose practice encompasses the diagnosis and treatment of both benign and malignant breast disease.
Craig is a board-certified general surgeon whose practice has been dedicated to treating only breast disease for the last 13 years at the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center in Windber.
At her Station Medical Center office, Craig will see patients in consultation, order imaging studies, provide clinical breast exams and perform minimally invasive breast biopsies in the office and outpatient setting.
“I will be performing the most current surgical procedures for those patients who are diagnosed with breast cancer,” she says.
“Patients with a strong family history of breast cancer will also be able to have genetic testing and counseling via the experts at UPMC.
“UPMC Altoona is invested in the best technology, expertise and convenience when it comes to women’s breast health.”
“State-of-the-art technology coupled with Craig’s surgical expertise and the convenience of Station Medical Center translates into a big step up in women’s breast health,” McConnell says.
“Our goal is that women will receive the best and most comfortable treatment in the region.
“To accomplish this, we have immediately begun plans to expand the Breast Health Center’s services so women in our region can receive the care and compassion they so truly deserve.”
Craig joins a team that includes Lauren Deur, M.D., who is board-certified in diagnostic radiology, fellowship-trained in breast imaging, and certified to read digital mammography. She has been interpreting breast imaging at UPMC Altoona since 2012.
The Breast Health Center also includes a patient navigator to guide patients with a breast cancer diagnosis. Cheryl Litzinger, RN, a certified oncology nurse, is available to help patients obtain the care they need.
“To make this expansion of women’s health services a reality requires a partnership between UPMC, UPMC Altoona, physicians, staff and the entire community,” says Jerry Murray, president of UPMC Altoona and Bedford Memorial.
“Today, the UPMC Altoona Foundation is pleased to announce that Karen Pfeffer, Esq., will be Capital Campaign Committee chairperson to fund this project.”
“I look forward to working with the Campaign Committee to raise funds to support the UPMC Altoona Breast Health Center,” says Pfeffer.