Ascension St. Michael’s celebrates groundbreaking for new Breast Care Center

STEVENS POINT — Benefactors of the Saint Michael’s Foundation, together with physicians, nurses, breast cancer survivors, and friends gathered in a “pink” atmosphere on Monday, December 4 at Ascension St. Michael’s Hospital for the Ceremonial Groundbreaking of the new Breast Care Center.

Though no shovels were needed for this groundbreaking, this group gathered to celebrate the success of the Hope Is Building Campaign in raising $3,300,000 for the new Breast Care Center.

“This new Breast Care Center is patient-centric, less confusing and more efficient in one location where women and their families can receive the entire gamut of their breast health care,” said Christopher Swiecki, M.D., Ascension Medical Group Surgeon in Stevens Point. “This state-of-the-art facility will expand services in one centralized location on the first floor of Ascension St. Michael’s.”

The groundbreaking program, attended by nearly 100 participants, was a chance to recognize the generosity of donors who have invested in the future health and well-being of our community through their support of the Hope is Building Campaign.

Campaign co-chairs, Kim and Steve Hodgson, Cindy and Joe Kinsella, along with their families, experienced breast cancer long before the idea of the Hope is Building Campaign begun.

“Our journey started when our wives were diagnosed with breast cancer, and we want every woman who is diagnosed with cancer to have a positive experience from treatment to remission,” said Steve Hodgson.
Cindy Kinsella, a breast cancer survivor, added, “Women don’t have to hope for things to be better, they will be as the result of the generosity of this community.”

The goal of the enhanced Breast Care Center is to create a physical environment that feels warm and welcoming. Its design is the physical embodiment of Ascension St. Michael’s philosophy of care by reorganizing departments and facilities to literally put the patient at the center.

The new Breast Care Center at Ascension St. Michael’s will include state of the art equipment including 3D mammography/tomosynthesis, stereotactic biopsy capabilities, ultrasound and ultrasound guided biopsy capabilities. It will also provide designate space for a Boutique, staffed by licensed nurse navigators who can fit prosthetics, bras, swimsuits, and wigs. The Boutique will serve more than just breast cancer patients as a community resource for all patients at the hospital and the community.

Beyond building this new facility, the Hope is Building campaign’s mission also strives to build a culture of prevention and early detection. Hoping to break the barriers of one in eight women being affected by breast cancer, and to serve the poor and vulnerable, a significant portion of the campaign dollars will benefit the Angel Fund of Saint Michael’s Foundation in perpetuity. This fund provides financial assistance for those who cannot afford their mammogram, so that no woman in the community will ever have to wonder if she has breast cancer.

The goal for the Hope is Building Campaign is to raise $4 million in support of the Breast Care Center and the Angel Fund. Saint Michael’s Foundation will continue to raise funds to meet this goal with the help of community friends and neighbors with 100 percent of the funds staying local to support efforts to treat breast patients in the community.

For additional information about the Hope is Building Campaign, please contact Saint Michael’s Foundation at 715.343.3259.