With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it seems fitting that the announcement has come down that Clinton County Hospital, thanks to a grant applied for in conjunction with the Lake Cumberland Area Development District, has been approved for a new, updated mammogram machine.

Lois Winsett, Director of Radiology at Clinton County Hospital, said the new mammography equipment, Hologic Selenia Digital Mammorgraphy System, to provide digital, updated services to Clinton County (and surrounding) residents, would be ordered in early November and in operation by the end of the year.

The new system will replace the current mammography unit, which was purchased in 1995.

Waylon Wright, Development Specialist with the Lake Cumberland ADD assisted in filing the 80/20 matching grant under USDA’s Rural Development program with the ARC (Appalachian Region Commission), with the total project cost for the new equipment being $252,199. Local cost share on the project is $63,050.

The project entails the purchase of a digital mammography system, imager and monitor for the hospital. The equipment will provide Clinton County Hospital with the capacity to offer modern, digital mammography service to women in Clinton and neighboring counties.

It will also allow the hospital to store digital mammography records and quickly share examination records electronically with its radiologist, who works at the local hospital one day a week and is based in Russell County.

In the grant application, it was noted that “Clinton County Hospital’s current non-digital mammography testing equipment is outdated. As the equipment ages, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain parts and service for the current mammogram machine.”

The application process began one year ago, in October 2010.

There is an estimated 4,500 adult women in Clinton County and when the hospital began the mammography program in 1995, 200 patients were served the first year. That has grown to over 720 last year. The application letter also noted that Cumberland and Pickett counties do not have mammography programs and many of the local hospital patients are from those areas.

The letter also noted that some patients had elected to go elsewhere for digital mammography exams, up to 50 miles or more away, and some patients simply did not have the means to go out of town for this service.

“With current reimbursement levels and the number of exams that we currently do, mammography has not been, nor will it be a profitable aspect of Clinton County Hospital. It is, however, a service we have provided, and will continue to provide to the women of our area if financially possible,” Winsett’s application letter stated last October.

It went on to say in part, “We feel our mammography program is a success if we are able to save at least one life with early detection. During the last year, we have had several sent for biopsy, with at least 19 patients having positive reports of breast cancer, which is a lot for a small tight knit community like ours. We hope that by installing digital mammography, expanding our hours and increasing awareness, we will increase our screening program in the next year. We already work with our local health department and our local physicians to promote breast health already, and hope to do more in the future.”

Winsett also noted in a brief interview on Monday that the new digital equipment will be more accurate than the current system.

The Board Certified Radiologist who conducts the mammogram program is Dr. Jerry Westerfield of Russell County, who is available in Clinton County one day a week.

Clinton County Hospital has three registered radiologists, including Winsett, Joanna Boils and Tara Chilton. They recommend that all women over age 40, as well as those with a family history of breast cancer, receive an exam at least once per year.

For more information about the mammography department or to schedule an appointment for a mammography exam, contact the radiology department at the hospital by calling 387-6421 or consult your family physician to schedule an appointment.

Clinton County Hospital has recently been awarded an ARC grant to purchase a new, updated digital mammography system. Shown here are Jerry Westerfield of Russell County, Board Certified Radiologist, Registered Radiologists at Clinton County Hospital, Lois Winsett, Director of Radiology and Joanna Cravens and Terra Chilton, with hospital administrator J.D. Mullins.

(Photo by Winsett Family Photography)