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Susan Zulk,

Public Relations and Marketing Director

(Photo by Randy M. Cauthron) Mammographer JaMae Dau goes through a certification process annually to make sure Spencer Hopstial provides up-to-date, accurate information about women's health issues. An open house for the Women's Health Center and Diagnostic Services area will take place from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, May 12. [Order this photo]

Spencer Hospital officials are using National Women's Check-Up Day to showcase its Women's Health Center and Diagnostic Services area.

An open house for the newly-remodeled area will take place from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, May 12.

"We've had women's health resource within the hospital for a couple of years but we just relocated it because we wanted to have things together and make it a lot more pleasant for women when they come in and have their procedures done," said Public Relations and Marketing Director Susan Zulk.

The 2005 surgery center project actually created an opportunity for the Women's Health Resource Center. The added space allowed coordinators to locate mammography, ultrasound and bone density departments -- services primarily used by women -- into one area. Changing rooms were placed at a location.

One of the key additions is available even before an appointment begins. Spencer Hospital added a women's resource room to the design. Guests can get the information they need through reading materials and a computer station. The computer has helpful sites bookmarked for easy access.

Most importantly, the resource room is staffed so patients have a chance to have general health questions answered by a health care professional before or after an appointment.

Mindy Sylvester, Women's Health Coordinator [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Mindy Sylvester is the women's health coordinator. She's heard feedback from patients who have noticed changes from one annual check-up to the next.

"They have been blown away, actually," Sylvester said. "I think they really enjoy the privacy this space provides, the extra education that's there for them to browse through while they're sitting there waiting for their exams. They don't have to wait very long -- they move through pretty quick. Everything is right in one area."

Services are also streamlined. Women coming for their annual mammogram can have their bone density checked or have a ultrasound completed in the same part of the hospital.

"It's all right there in that space," Sylvester said. "It's not as disconnected as it was before."

New equipment also has made the process easier, according to JaMae Dau a mammographer at Spencer Hospital.

"With the digital mammography, we don't have to develop our films anymore, so there's not that added wait time (for the patient) to see if we're finished," she said. "We literally take the exposure and, within a few seconds, we can tell if we have everything we need to have, diagnostically, from a mammogram. You walk in the room with the patient. The next time you walk out, you're done. The patient's dressed."

"We're all different personalities," Zulk added. "For some people to come in and get their annual mammogram, it's really routine."

Others may be more apprehensive, so faster diagnostic results, the educational component in the resource room and state-of-the-art equipment all contribute to a better patient experience.

Steve Deutsch, Director of Diagnostic Imaging [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Steve Deutsch, Director of Diagnostic Imaging, relocated to Spencer from New Jersey.

"I came from a big hospital and nothing was like what it is here," he said. "One of the reasons I came here is because I could see the commitment Spencer Hospital has to the community. The community embraces the hospital because it is state-of-the-art."

"For a hospital this size, in this community, it's amazing the equipment we have here," he added.