Sparrow Breast Clinic creates Breast Nurse Navigator program, receives national designation

For breast cancer patients, the process of going through treatment can be a frightening and confusing one, from biopsy to recovery. Now, patients of the Sparrow Breast Clinic have a new way to feel supported and guided from beginning to end. The new Breast Nurse Navigator program creates a point person to help patients through the diagnosis and treatment process

 

“It’s a very high stress time for women when they find something on their mammogram that requires follow-up,” says Joy Szilagyi, Sparrow’s Director of Radiology and Diagnostic Services. “She is truly an advocate for the patients.” 

 

The Sparrow Breast Clinic hired their first Breast Nurse Navigator in early January, and have been receiving positive feedback from patients and physicians alike. In the future, says Szilagyi, Sparrow may consider nurse navigators for other cancer departments. 

The Breast Nurse Navigator is only the latest in a series of good news from the Sparrow Breast Clinic. The clinic is now celebrating their designation as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology.

“We just continually raise the bar for achieving top-notch quality for our patients,” Szilagyi says. “We’ve been very motivated to be sure we’re providing the highest quality services to women in the community.”

 

Contributing to their designation is the clinic’s new stereotactic breast biopsy machine that was purchased last year with the help of a $100,000 grant from the Sparrow Foundation’s Women Working Wonders program. The technology allows for biopsies to be a less invasive, outpatient process.