New technology enhances NUMC Breast Center

State of the art. 

Dr. Victor Scarmatta couldn’t help but smile as he said those four words to an audience gathered at the Nassau University Medical Center last week. He was describing the stunning technological facelift that had been unveiled at the hospital’s National Mah Jongg League Foundation Breast Center on Oct. 4.  

The hospital’s enhancement of technology used to screen women for breast cancer makes the unit among the best on Long Island, according to Scarmatta and other medical professionals in attendance. Scarmatta, the chairman of the radiology department, emphasized the importance of early detection. 

“The stage at which breast cancer is detected influences a woman’s chance of survival,” said Scarmatta, who came to the NUMC from the North Shore-LIJ system. “If detected early, the five-year survival rate is 97 percent.”

Last week’s ribbon cutting occurred on the first week of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It also marked the third year of a transformation of NUMC’s Breast Center, which began with the renovation of the lobby about three years ago. Since then, new equipment and innovations have been added. But the most recent addition has apparently put the center into the spotlight. 

Through a $1.2 million grant from the Kermit Gitenstein Foundation, the NUMC was able to implement three new digital imaging systems, two of which would be in the Breast Center and the third in the mammography screening van. 

In addition, the hospital purchased a new bone densitometry system and a ultrasonography system. 

“This is another milestone in the modernization of this facility,” said Art Gianelli, president and CEO of NuHealth Systems, which operates the NUMC. “I urge all women this month to take advantage of our new state-of-the-art equipment.”

Dr. Rose Guercia, a member of NuHealth’s Board of Directors, lauded the technological advancements. The unveiling was extra special for Guercia.

“As a breast cancer survivor myself, I am absolutely thrilled to see this in Nassau County,” she said. 

For more information about this important breast health procedure or to schedule a mammogram, call the NUMC Breast Center at (516) 572-6635.