43
$8M breast-care center at St. E’s fulfills doctor’s promise to wife
Photo
Dr. Rashid Abdu
By Kristine Gill
YOUNGSTOWN
Seventeen years ago, Dr. Rashid Abdu’s wife died from an aggressive form of breast cancer.
“Before she passed away, I promised her I would do everything I could to establish a comprehensive breast-care center in the Valley,” Dr. Abdu said.
A ceremonial groundbreaking for the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center at St. Elizabeth Health Center takes place today. The center will serve women in the market between Cleveland and Hershey, Pa., Dr. Abdu said.
“Women in our Valley don’t have to go to Pittsburgh or Cleveland to get comprehensive care,” said Nancy Gantt, a general surgeon who performs mainly breast surgery at St. Elizabeth.
“You want to stay in your community for your care.”
The center’s other goal will be to streamline breast- cancer treatment by housing experts from all steps of the treatment process.
“Right now, health care is fragmented,” Dr. Abdu said. “A woman will go for a mammogram, then have to wait for the report. Meanwhile she’s apprehensive, she’s worried. She can’t sleep, ‘What’s going to happen?’”
Dr. Abdu said the center will reduce the length of time between a biopsy and diagnosis from weeks to days and will have its own radiologist, surgeon, plastic surgeon, geneticists, technicians and counselors among other staff.
“It’s a team approach,” Dr. Abdu said. “The members of the team must be on site or immediately available.”
The center will be housed at St. Elizabeth, and $4 million worth of renovations will take place there. Dr. Abdu said it will open in 12 to 14 months.
Dr. Abdu is the former general surgeon and director of surgical education at St. Elizabeth, where he worked 23 years. He and others raised $6.5 million of the projected $8 million needed to complete the center. The rest of the money will go toward high-tech equipment in the building.
Covelli Enterprises will present the center with a $125,000 donation during the groundbreaking, which is factored into the $6.5 million raised. The money comes from a 10-K run and 2-mile fun walk at Covelli Centre Aug. 29. The event was called the Panerathon, sponsored by Covelli Enterprises and Panera Bread.
Dr. Abdu said the center will become one of 133 accredited breast-care centers nationwide. A committee for the center is already working to meet the 17 components and 27 standards required for accreditation.