News — The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted 6-0 to approve the University of Chicago Medicine’s certificate of need (CON) application Tuesday to build a comprehensive breast imaging facility in .
The vote, which took place during the regulatory board’s meeting in Bolingbrook, clears the way for the academic health system to expand its specialized breast imaging services in the south suburbs. The dedicated suite will provide screening and diagnostic mammography in a 3,500-square-foot facility as part of a joint venture with .
Construction on the new suite is expected to begin in September and should be complete in 2020.
“We are partnering with Solis Mammography, which has extensively researched the barriers to regular screenings and developed a model for effective patient-centric care,” said , executive vice president for medical affairs at the University of Chicago. “By combining Solis Mammography’s model with our outstanding cancer program and oncology team, who will interpret imaging results and manage quality, we will be able to provide patients with integrated mammography care.”
UChicago Medicine will also partner with Solis Mammography to provide mammography services on the health system’s as well as at its new , which will open in 2020.
UChicago Medicine opened its Orland Park outpatient facility in late 2016 and left portions of the top floors as shell space to allow for future expansion.
The new $5.7 million dedicated breast imaging center will be built on the fourth floor and will include a full line of radiology equipment, including a 3D mammography machine that uses paddles that follow the shape of a woman’s breast for extra comfort. It will also have breast ultrasound services for diagnostic scans and biopsy targeting, as well as a bone density scanner. UChicago Medicine currently offers limited mammography services at the location, but women who need more comprehensive, diagnostic care have to travel to the health system’s main location in Hyde Park.
“We are gratified that state officials supported our proposal to bring much-needed breast imaging services to women in south suburban communities,” said , president of the University of Chicago Medical Center. “This self-contained suite will help address the disparate distribution of resources in the region while removing barriers that prevent women from getting regular screenings as part of a comprehensive preventative health program.
According to the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force, the Chicago area has some of the lowest breast cancer screening rates in the nation. That’s in part due to an inequitable distribution of highly skilled breast imaging experts in many communities in the city and the surrounding suburbs.
Dallas-based Solis Mammography is a national leader in patient-centric breast imaging. The company, which performs more than 750,000 screenings a year at its 60 locations, is known for providing a warm, inviting environment and designing a unique practice model to encourage women to get regular breast screenings, which leads to earlier detection of breast cancer.
“Our goal for this project is to combine a patient-centric approach to the delivery of mammography services with the expertise of one of the nation’s best cancer hospitals,” said , chief medical officer of Solis Mammography. “Working together, UChicago Medicine and Solis can provide patients with mammography care that is at the forefront of medicine.”
About the University of Chicago Medicine & Biological Sciences
The University of Chicago Medicine, with a history dating back to 1927, is one of the nation’s leading academic health systems. It unites the missions of the University of Chicago Medical Center, Pritzker School of Medicine and the Biological Sciences Division. Twelve Nobel Prize winners in physiology or medicine have been affiliated with the University of Chicago Medicine. Its main Hyde Park campus is home to the Center for Care and Discovery, Bernard Mitchell Hospital, Comer Children’s Hospital and the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine. It also has ambulatory facilities in Orland Park and the South Loop as well as affiliations and partnerships that create a regional network of care. UChicago Medicine offers a full range of specialty-care services for adults and children through more than 40 institutes and centers including an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Together with Harvey-based Ingalls Memorial, UChicago Medicine has 1,286 licensed beds, nearly 1,300 attending physicians, about 3,200 nurses and over 1,100 residents and fellows.
About Solis Mammography
The nation’s largest independent provider of breast screening and diagnostic services, Solis Mammography has been dedicated to helping women achieve and maintain breast health and peace of mind for more than 30 years and more than 5 million procedures. As a pioneer and innovator in 3D mammography and as an architect and early advocate for SmartCurve, Solis Mammography has stayed at the forefront of breast health by continuing to deliver a better experience and a more accurate mammogram to the generations of women we serve. To learn more about Solis Mammography, visit .
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