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Volume 16 • Issue 4 • $5.00 October 2019
THE REGION’S MONTHLY NEWSPAPER FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS & PHYSICIANS

Breast Cancer...

Breast Cancer Awareness

and Screening

BY DR. VANITHA VASUDEVAN, MD

Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed
cancer in American women, after skin cancer. In fact,
one in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer
over the course of their lifetime. In 2019, it is estimated
Diana Arteaga that there will be about 269,000 newly diagnosed cases Zeff Ross
of invasive breast cancer, and about 42,000 deaths from
the disease. Death rates from breast cancer have been
Diana Arteaga steadily decreasing since 1989, especially in women less Zeff Ross -
than 50 years. This has been thought to be due to
Committed increased awareness, earlier detection through screening Time with
and treatment advances.
Breast cancer screening improves the chances of early
to Community, detection of disease, thus improving survival rates from Dr. Vanitha Vasudevan Memorial “A T rue
cancer. The two most common guidelines followed are from the American Cancer
Collaboration Society (ACS) and United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). USPSTF Labor of Love”
recommends mammogram once in 2 years starting at age 50 years, though ACS rec-
at Broward ommends yearly mammograms from age 45 onwards. BY LOIS THOMSON
Women with high risk for breast cancer - include those with family history of breast
cancer or with positive BRCA 1 or 2 genes in first-degree relatives - need earlier Zeff Ross' career with Memorial
Health screening starting at age 40 years with yearly mammogram and an MRI. Having said Healthcare System began in 1991 when,
that, only 10-15% of breast cancers run in the family. More than 85% of breast cancers as he explained, Frank Sacco, then presi-
develop in women with no family history of breast cancer. African American women dent and CEO, "offered me the position
BY VANESSA ORR of being the administrator of a nonexist-
Continued on page 18 ent hospital." Ross was hired April 29,
Since 2010, Diana Arteaga, vice presi- 1991, and was assigned to build a hospi-
dent of government relations and com- tal within a year, something that would
munity/public affairs at Broward Health, ordinarily take a minimum of 14 months.
has dedicated her professional career to ImageFIRST Patient Experience Rather than being daunted by such an
public service. undertaking, Ross accepted the chal-
Before taking the position at Broward Shapes Consumer Attitude lenge, and in less than 13 months, with
Health in January 2018, she served as help from many Memorial Healthcare
director of government relations/senior System people, that nonexistent hospital
advisor to the city manager for the City BY BARBARA R. FALLON turned out to be Memorial Hospital
of Miami, and worked as the South West, located in Pembroke Pines. Ross
Florida market manager for Florida’s Competition in health care is nothing new , but said he learned everything he could
chief financial officer. She also served as some competitors are. As traditional providers vie about building a new hospital, including
legislative counsel/foreign affairs advisor with like competitors most know how to compare doing research on other facilities that had
for former Congressman Lincoln Diaz- and promote clinician skills and technology that recently opened. "I spoke with the CEOs
Balart in Washington, D.C. differentiate them. But when health care profes- and got ideas of what was successful and
“The best part of public service is how sionals go head-to-head with newcomers skilled in what wasn't. I love a challenge, and this
close you are to the issues, and your abil- the high-touch retail aspects of customer service was the biggest, because very few admin-
ity to take into consideration public they may feel like a fish out of water. First of all, a istrators get the opportunity in their
need and the public voice,” she customer-centric mission with actionable out- careers to ever build a hospital."
explained. “For the last decade of my comes is vital to holding and building market He added that it was an enormous task,
career, I have experienced such profes- share. Many organizations are now tapping indi- but one that paid off. "Nobody anticipat-
sional growth and personal satisfaction viduals and teams in the C-suite or on the front- ed a new hospital doing as well as it did,
that I would never consider trading it for line to determine what can improve the patient not only financially, but for the commu-
a private sector position.” experience. nity as well, with the services we offered,
As part of the new transition team at ImageFIRST jumps onboard as a vital partner in Jay Juffre the number of births performed, and the
Broward Health, Arteaga was tasked with improving the patient experience. Patients make decisions about where to seek health difference we were able to make to the
leading the government affairs and com- care, but it is difficult for them to judge quality of clinical technology , so they seek and community for greater access to a
munity affairs portfolios, which includ- trust their caregiver’s guidance. However, when it comes to the customer experience, Memorial facility. To this day, Memorial
ed rebuilding and strengthening rela- the patient can definitely judge the quality of that visit and that includes everything Hospital West has become one of the
tionships with community organizations from attitude to convenience and comfort. largest hospitals in Broward County
and stakeholders. ImageFIRST, the largest and fastest growing provider of healthcare garments, patient because patients want to be there."

Continued on page 13 Continued on page 14 Continued on page 14