Coming soon! A new home for the Breast Imaging and Diagnostic Center at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital

Since its establishment in 1971, the Sagoff Breast Imaging and Diagnostic Center at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital has cared for hundreds of thousands of patients and currently provides screening mammography services to approximately 20,000 women every year. Known for its patient-centered approach to breast cancer detection, prevention, patient and staff education, research and treatment, it is one of the leading centers for breast health care in the country. In order to continue providing the highest quality of care possible, the center will be relocated from its current home in Belkin House to a state-of-the-art facility on the fifth floor of the main hospital at BWFH this October.

In the new space, screening and diagnostic mammography services, bone density testing and procedures like biopsy and radioactive seed placement will all take place in one convenient location designed with the patient in mind.

“Belkin House has been home to innovative, world class breast health care for decades, and it’s remarkable to reflect on how many patients have received care there over the past fifty years. It’s a significant landmark in the history of breast imaging and the treatment of breast cancer, and we will honor its legacy as we prepare to see patients in our new space,” says BWFH’s Chief of Radiology Dylan C. Kwait, MD. “The new Breast Imaging and Diagnostic Center will enable us to go beyond what we’ve accomplished in the Belkin and further advance breast health care at the BWFH. We will be adding a sixth mammography system with tomosynthesis to support our growing screening and diagnostic mammography services. And, we will also have a new, cutting-edge bone density scanner. This technology will afford our patients the highest quality in women’s imaging.”

As patients have come to expect, the center will be staffed by Brigham and Women’s board-certified subspecialty radiologists who have dedicated their careers to breast imaging. “Our breast imaging radiologists are fellowship trained in breast imaging and spend our entire careers focused on breast cancer screening and diagnosis. We aim to provide care with a focus on the optimal patient's experience, using state of the art 3D or tomosynthesis breast mammography equipment,” explains Division Chief of Breast Imaging Sona Chikarmane, MD. “We are excited to continue providing high-quality breast imaging care to our patients in the new breast center.”

Most importantly, patients visiting the new center will be welcomed by the same staff who have cared for them for years. “I have worked in the Breast Imaging and Diagnostic Center for more than 25 years. Over the years, I have seen a lot of changes, but none more exciting than our brand-new space,” says Mammography Technologist Cathy Palmieri, RT (M). “I’m thinking of it like building a new house—while it’s a lot of work to pack up and move from your old, comfortable space, the end result is going to be a beautiful new space perfectly designed to accommodate our patients and their needs.”

Dr. Kwait agrees. “From an aesthetic standpoint, the new breast center is everything and more than we could have hoped for,” he says. “It’s a peaceful, airy space with sweeping views of the Arnold Arboretum. Inspired by the Emerald Necklace, the local park system created by Frederick Law Olmsted, the architects incorporated elements of nature in the design and chose a color palette that’s welcoming and spiritually uplifting. It’s beautiful, and I think our patients are going to love it.”

Published 8/10/22