New Women-Focused Center in Lafayette

Encouraged by the successful debut of its beautiful new Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center in Oakland, Alta Bates Summit announces the opening of another innovative, women-focused facility: the Alta Bates Summit Women’s Health Center in Lafayette. Like the Breast Health Center, this new facility — scheduled to open in November — will feature state-of-the-art technology and exceptional care. “It’s a great new patient-centered facility focused on welcoming women,” says Katarina Lannér-Cusin, M.D., Alta Bates Summit’s medical director of Women’s Services.

The Lafayette center will offer mammography screenings as well as pelvic health services in a convenient new Contra Costa County location. “Many of our patients live east of the Caldecott Tunnel,” explains Ike Mmeje, who’s spearheading the center’s development for Alta Bates Summit. “With this new facility in place, women will have Alta Bates Summit services in their neighborhood.”

Located in the bustling downtown area, the center makes it easy for women to fit screenings and treatments into their busy schedules. The nearly 4,400-square-foot facility — in the new Lafayette Mercantile Center, at 3595 Mt. Diablo Blvd. — has plenty of parking and is convenient to shopping and restaurants.

“It’s not just for Alta Bates Summit patients who live east of the tunnel,” adds Dr. Lannér-Cusin. “Anyone, from Berkeley to Pinole, can choose to come to our new center. Its tranquil surroundings may help many patients feel less anxious about breast screenings and treatments for pelvic problems.”

With its quiet third-floor location, large windows, a wealth of natural light, earth tones, and soothing ambience, it’s an environment that’s been designed for women’s healing and comfort. According to Katie Rose, R.N., administrative director of Women and Infants Services, the secret is “in the details,” such as the comfortable reception lounge, where patients can relax while nature scenes flow tranquilly across a 52-inch flat-screen TV. Artwork, she adds, includes original paintings by Napa artist Jessel Miller, colorfully depicting the six stages of a woman’s life.

Thoughtful details extend to the patient’s experience. When women arrive at the center for a mammography, for example, they’ll be greeted and escorted to a changing room, where they can leave their clothing and belongings securely. Instead of a stiff, scratchy paper gown, they’ll be handed a soft, comfortable cloth mammography jacket to wear for the screening.

The new center will also offer women a lot more privacy. “Instead of telling her history to a check-in receptionist,” explains Dr. Lannér-Cusin, “each patient will tell it directly to the technician, discreetly and person to person, in the confidential setting of the mammography room. This is a great improvement for women who feel uncomfortable talking about their breast implants, reductions, or family history of breast cancer.”

The mammography itself will employ state-of-the-art digital imaging. This advanced technology allows radiologists to spot very small abnormalities and emits half the radiation of traditional analog mammography. Radiologists view mammograms later that day, and patients are contacted with results. It all adds up to a faster, smoother experience for the patient.

In addition to mammography, the new women’s center will offer pelvic health services, which can help many women after childbirth and later in life. According to Esther Dolowich, physical therapist, about 33 percent of all women suffer from pelvic pain and/or urinary incontinence. “A lot of women,” she says, “experience pelvic pain or incontinence throughout their life for a number of reasons, from childbirth to aging factors.” Physical therapy approaches, however, can reduce pain and help restore normal body functions.

“These services are not commonly offered in physical therapy clinics, but there’s a growing need for therapies that help women improve urinary continence and pelvic health,” notes Sue Elderkin, Alta Bates Summit’s coordinator of Outpatient Orthopedic Rehabilitation Services. “At our new center, experienced therapists provide a healing environment for women.”
In the future, the Women’s Health Center may add more screening services, such as cardiac assessments, to make it “a one-stop shop” for a variety of women’s health issues. “Once we open our doors,” says Dr. Lannér-Cusin, “women will let us know what they need.”

For more information about the new center, visit www.altabatessummit.org