UTICA, N.Y. - The Sister Rose Vincent Family Medicine Center held an open house March 8 to show its new, advanced digital mammography imaging equipment. This is the same model of equipment that was recently installed at St. Elizabeth Medical Arts in New Hartford.

The addition of the digital imaging equipment was made possible by the generosity of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, the Mele Family Fund, a donor-advised fund of The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties and Dr. Martin Morell.

“It is through the support of these benefactors that St. Elizabeth Medical Center is able to enhance services provided by the Family Medicine Center,” said Richard Ketcham, President/CEO of St. Elizabeth Medical Center. “The benefits to patients who receive care at this location are varied. Patients can have many of the tests needed at the same appointment when they see healthcare providers. They don’t have to travel and they receive results before they leave the center.”

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s Community and Member Health Improvement Council grant will help improve access to life-saving mammography screenings for uninsured and underserved women in the community. “Mammography is the best tool for the early detection of breast cancer, yet studies show that the lower a woman’s income level, the less likely she is to receive regular screenings,” said Eve Van de Wal, regional president, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. “The availability of this new equipment, coupled with increased education and outreach efforts, will save lives.”

The Mele Family Fund, a donor-advised fund of The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties, Inc., supports community projects that have the capacity to touch many lives and to enhance the impact on individual lives. “We, the Foundation and Mele Fund advisors Raymond Mele and Michael Valentine, are truly honored to partner with St. Elizabeth Medical Center in bringing the most up-to-date digital mammography equipment to the Sister Rose Vincent Family Medicine Center,” said Peggy O’Shea, President/CEO of The Community Foundation.

Martin Morell, M.D., owner of Arthritis Specialists, located at 4401 Middle Settlement Road, Suite 106, New Hartford, has donated a GE lunar prodigy bone density unit and a high-frequency Dell radiographic unit (x-ray machine) to the Sister Rose Vincent Family Medicine Center, located at 120 Hobart Street, Utica. This has allowed the Radiology Department at the Family Medicine Center to enhance services for patients. It is newer technology with a higher frequency generator and uses less radiation while improving image quality.

"Sister Rose Vincent believed in providing services to under privileged, uninsured residents of this community, I wanted to answer her call to assist these patients," said Dr. Morell.

The Department of Radiology has enhanced the equipment by adding an AGFA CR75 Computerized Radiology System, which converts plain film x-ray images to digital format to the radiographic unit. This technology eliminates the need for repeating images due to under- or over-exposure errors. The electronic imaging process improves the turnaround time of reports, physician access and quality from 24 hours to five hours or less. It has the same digital benefits as equipment at the Medical Center and Imaging at St. Elizabeth Medical Arts.