Q&A with Dr. Charles Lackey, medical director of Ascension St. Vincent Evansville Breast Center
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Ascension St. Vincent Evansville Breast Center is celebrating 30 years of service to women. The facility opened in December 1994 on the hospital’s main campus at 3700 Washington Ave. In 2014, the center moved to its current location at 100 Saint Mary’s Epworth Crossing in Newburgh.
Medical Director Dr. Charles Lackey spoke to Inside INdiana Business about the evolution of technology in breast health care and the facility’s mobile mammography unit.
Tell me about the services Ascension St. Vincent Evansville Breast Center offers.
The Breast Center offers screening mammography, ultrasounds, biopsies and bone density testing.
How has the facility changed since 1994?
We have continued to maintain the latest equipment as far as 3D mammography and upgraded ultrasound and upgraded bone density units. Also, we offer same-day reads, so if a woman comes in and gets a screening mammogram, they can get the results the same day. And if it’s abnormal, we’ll do the workup for them while they’re here.
What challenges has the center experienced?
It is always challenging to reach underserved patients who would benefit from this. So expanding our mobile screening program has been a challenge. Trying to get our mobile unit where large groups of women are—as far as factories and schools and things like that—to make sure that we’re getting everyone screened who would like to be screened.
What successes has the facility celebrated?
When I started in about 2005, I took an interest in dense breast tissue, which is now a legislative issue. But in 2007, I went over to Italy and learned about the use of ultrasound in screening for women with dense breast tissue. Since that time, we’ve been offering screening ultrasound for dense breast tissue as well as informing all of our patients about the density of their tissue. We’ve been very involved in this process long before it was legislated.
How is the center unique compared to facilities that offer similar services?
We were one of the very first breast centers in the entire United States. We’ve always been avant-garde in that we were offering needle biopsies when other places were just starting to get this equipment. We had done hundreds of stereotactic biopsies.
We’ve always been ahead of the curve as far as implementation of technology. It’s a struggle to maintain that kind of leading edge because getting financing and all from the hospital to buy the lettuce and bread isn’t always possible. But we’ve managed to stay on par.
One of the greatest assets is our staff. We have low staff turnover and a high staff retention rate. And most people who work here stay here for their entire career. They’re all competent, compassionate and experienced. They’re good at their jobs, and I respect them. I offer them a fair amount of autonomy to do their job correctly without micromanaging them.
What is the state of mammograms?
Our volume is growing. We’re doing our best to reach out to the local community by providing mobile services. But as far as what percentage of the population is getting them, I don’t know.
We saw that the Komen Race for the Cure was popular in the early 2000s, but that seems to have waned. There doesn’t seem to be the enthusiasm driving women to come in and get screening mammograms. I bet the numbers are stable, but they’re probably not growing as far as percentages.
How does the center incorporate patient feedback to improve the quality of care?
Patients are given questionnaires after they’ve had services, so it is looking for their responses as to what was their experience and what areas to improve upon.
How does the facility plan to advance breast health care in the future?
We continue to try to get additional contracts to provide services for new facilities. We’re always recruiting. A large part of that is we’re capitated by patients’ insurance. For example, if Toyota [in Princeton] has contracted with Deaconess [Health System] for breast services, then we have to compete to get that contract. So part of it is out of our hands. It’s in the hands of administration and contract management and whatnot.
But just by providing good service to patients and word of mouth, we’re growing. We’re growing because we do a good job, and one patient will tell another patient and that’s how we’re growing.
What are the career opportunities and pathways in the breast health care field?
Doing mammography is a part of someone who undergoes training to become a radiology technologist. The advantages of working at a breast center are normal hours, having a rapport with patients and getting to see the same patients year after year.
Anything else you’d like to add?
We are a Catholic Charities healthcare system. We are based on the principles of serving others, the Christian faith and trying to put our faith into practice. I see it on a daily basis with the technologists, the way they interact with the patients. There is an attitude that this is a Christ facility, and we are trying to live that out in our ministry.