Gift to Saint Joseph Berea Foundation Establishes Merle M. Davis Digital Mammography Suite - Archived
Gift To Saint Joseph Berea Foundation Establishes
Merle M. Davis Digital Mammography Suite
Berea, Ky. (June 20, 2014)—Funding from the Saint Joseph Berea Foundation, part of KentuckyOne Health, is bringing digital mammography technology to Saint Joseph Berea.
The Foundation received a generous gift from the family of Merle M. Davis, who was a beloved nurse, to create the Merle M. Davis Digital Mammography Suite at the hospital. In addition to the Davis family’s gift, the Foundation dedicated unrestricted funds to cover the cost of new mammography equipment in the suite. The entire project is a $350,000 investment in Saint Joseph Berea.
Merle Davis was a dedicated nurse and supervisor of the Berea College Hospital (now Saint Joseph Berea) operating room for many years. She was completely dedicated to her nursing career and was well-respected for her spunky attitude, loyalty, commitment and knowledge. Throughout her tenure at Berea Hospital, she made many friends in the medical community and was recognized wherever she went by former patients.
Davis’ family was joined by hospital leadership, staff and the Saint Joseph Berea Foundation board of directors for the official opening of the suite on June 20, 2014.
“This is a lifesaving gift that will help us with the early detection of breast cancer,” said Sherri Craig, interim president of the Saint Joseph Berea Foundation. “This beautiful suite named in Mrs. Davis’ honor will contain state-of the-art mammography equipment and benefit the community that she loved and served with such dedication throughout her lifetime. We are grateful for Davis family and the generous gift in memory of their mother.”
Kentucky is estimated to have more than 3,000 invasive breast cancer cases diagnosed this year. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer found in women. Mammograms are the preferred diagnostic test to find breast cancer in its early stages and digital mammography is a critical tool in this early detection.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine determined that digital mammograms were superior to film mammograms for women under 50 years of age, women with dense breasts and women who have not yet gone through menopause, or who have been in menopause less than one year.
Digital mammograms are stored electronically and can be analyzed by computers as well as by radiologists. They also take more views of each breast than traditional film mammograms and use less radiation.
Yearly mammograms are recommended for all women beginning at age 40 and continuing as long as they are in good health. Saint Joseph Berea expects to perform 2,000 mammograms this year.
“The Berea area is so fortunate to have the newest state-of-the-art mammography technology coming to Saint Joseph Berea,” said Jan Bennett, Davis’ daughter. “The Davis family is honored that the new suite will be named the Merle M. Davis Mammography Suite. In memory of her lifelong nursing career and her love for the nursing profession, we are blessed with this opportunity to honor our mother.”
Mammography appointments are available by calling, 859.986.6587.
About KentuckyOne Health
KentuckyOne Health was formed when two major Kentucky health care organizations came together in early 2012. KentuckyOne Health combines the Jewish and Catholic heritages of the two former systems – Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System. In late 2012, the organization formed a partnership with the University of Louisville Hospital | James Graham Brown Cancer Center. The nonprofit system is committed to improving the health of Kentuckians by integrating medical research, education, technology and health care services wherever patients receive care. KentuckyOne Health has more than 200 locations including hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies across the state of Kentucky and southern Indiana.
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Publish date:
Friday, June 20, 2014