LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
With the support of the Horizon Health Foundation and Sycamore Engineering, a new mammography center was revealed during an open house ceremony on Oct. 28.
Mammograms can be a stressful and uncomfortable medical procedure; Horizon Health hopes their new area will provide patients an alternative sense of comfort and relaxation.
“We wanted something that would be really good for the patients to relax and feel at ease when they come in, so they’re not stressed out. Mammography is an area that’s very, very uncomfortable anyway and can be stressful,” Director of Diagnostic Imaging Aaron Richardson said. “We wanted them to feel like they could come in, get a great experience and then leave and feel like, ‘Oh, that was that wasn’t so bad.’ We’ve already had patients that were able to utilize it and they’re enjoying it very much. They felt a lot more comfortable here.”
The new space includes a comfortable, inviting changing room directly attached to the mammogram room, as well as the option to completely customize the aura and scenery surrounding the mammogram machine itself.
“From the patient perspective, I can say it’s pretty incredible. You can go in there and customize your experience, and it has screens that you can change the backdrop, so you’re not just looking at a cold wall while you’re getting this less-than-ideal thing happening to you. It makes it a little more under the patient’s control and I don’t think there’s any other places that have done something like this,” Executive Director of Horizon Health Foundations Randi Bohannon said.
Sycamore Engineering sponsored the ribbon-cutting ceremony and amenities for the evening. Their hard work and engineering played a major role in the success of the new area for women’s health.
“That area was remodeled completely. The service was in another area at the time, and the mammography machine was in another part of the hospital. So our work was basically redoing the electrical and data networks,” Sycamore Engineering Chief Development Officer Justin Kunz said.
“Then they had a company move the mammography machine. We hooked up all the powder for everything,” he explained.
“When you go in there, take a look at it. That’s something you want to get a picture of. It’s absolutely gorgeous. We installed the lights and the monitor connections for all those so it’s pretty cool.”
Kunz said Sycamore Engineering has had a partnership with Horizon Health for quite a long time and that the recent community event is “a good way to support this from our side and we’re thankful for this partnership.”
Horizon Health also upgraded its MRI system in 2023 to have the same personable, comforting effects.
Horizon Health President and Chief Executive Officer Ollie Smith was present for the open house event and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Smith, along with other Horizon Health officials and radiology employees cut the ribbon together at 5:30 p.m. The ribbon cutting is Smith’s last before his upcoming retirement in December.
More information regarding mammogram services and other radiology departments can be found at myhorizonhealth.org.