Newton Medical Center opens Center for Breast Health

NEWTON — Newton Medical Center today marked the opening of the Center for Breast Health, the only comprehensive breast center located in Sussex County and the centerpiece of the hospital’s year-long “’15 For Women – Year of Women’s Health,” campaign.

The Center for Breast Health will address all of a woman’s breast health needs, including state-of-the-art technology, resources, education, support and follow up care in a spa-like, caring environment.

The highlight of these services will be digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). Sometimes referred to as a three-dimensional mammogram, DBT is a diagnostic tool that can detect small breast tumors, while decreasing false positives and the need for patient recalls.

The center will also offer 2-D mammography, breast ultrasounds, bone density scans and breast biopsy procedures. The center also includes a private waiting room area where women can relax with herbal teas and infused waters in a calm, patient-centered environment. A certified breast imaging navigator is on staff to assist with patient education and follow-up care.

According to the 2013 Community Health Alliance of Northwestern-Central NJ, 25 percent of women in Sussex County aged 40 and older had not had a mammogram in the past two years. The age-adjusted death rate for breast cancer in Sussex County is about 24 deaths per 100,000 women, according to the National Cancer Institute. This less than optimal survival rate is higher than the goal of HealthyPeople2020, a federal initiative to improve the lives of all Americans — and could be a by-product of late stage diagnosis. In addition to the behavioral, genetic, environmental factors, late stage diagnosis of breast cancer is driven by lack of early detection. This is largely due to limited access to care, including the availability of screening facilities, among other factors. The opening of the Center for Breast Health means that women in the community will no longer need to travel outside the area to receive these services.

“We are honored to be able to be able to provide the highest level of mammography and breast care services to the women of our region,” said Hector Cordero, MD, co-director of the new center. ‘With the ability to detect breast cancer at earlier stages, the services of the new center will give us a great advantage in the fight against breast cancer in our communities.”

The opening of the Center for Breast Health is the centerpiece of “’15 for Women — Year of Women’s Health,” Annual Fund Campaign, which throughout 2015 has highlighted women’s role as the navigators of their families’ health care and the need for women to care for their own health and wellness. The campaign also seeks to raise essential funds that will help Newton Medical Center remain on the forefront of medical and technological advances, enhance its programs, services and facilities and most importantly, support its mission to deliver high-quality, safe, affordable patient care within a healing culture.

The campaign has been not only highlighted by events by the hospital each month designed to help women better care for their health, but has also been embraced by the community, through local fundraisers, events and promotions from community partners.

“The Center for Breast Health embodies the efforts we have made to advance the services at the hospital to deliver the highest level of care for our communities,” said Joe DiPaolo, president of Newton Medical Center and vice president of Atlantic Health System. “The support for the center and the year-long women’s health campaign also shows the long tradition of community support for the hospital is stronger than ever.”

Plans for the center were unveiled in late 2014, at the launch of the campaign. At the time, the Newton Medical Center Foundation provided a $500,000 gift — roughly half the cost of the center — to the medical center that allowed the project to begin immediately. The remaining cost has been raised throughout the campaign through the hospital’s events as well as individual donations. The 2,500 square foot center was built in reconfigured space in the hospital’s radiology department.

For more information or to donate to the ‘’15 For Women — Year of Women’s Health,” campaign, please call the Newton Medical Center Foundation at 973-579-8309.