The Center for Breast Care at Calvert Memorial Hospital brings together a team of breast health experts – including breast radiologists from Johns Hopkins – with an experienced navigator backed by the latest technology in one comfortable and convenient location.
“This center provides the same quality of care you would find in a major metropolitan area,” said CMH President and CEO Jim Xinis, “right here in our community.”
Located in Suite 102 of the new Calvert Medical Arts Center on the main hospital campus, the breast center offers comprehensive and coordinated care for women – from outreach and screening to diagnosis, treatment and survivorship, all under one roof, in a timely manner.
Board-certified surgeon Dr. Sheldon Goldberg, member of the American College of Breast Surgeons, was recently named as the center’s medical director. “His personal and professional dedication to caring for women with breast cancer,” said Xinis, “is matched by the physician leadership team who worked side-by-side for the past year to develop this center.” The team also includes general and plastic surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, breast radiologists from Johns Hopkins and breast pathologists.
The new center offers physicians involved in the management of breast disease a dedicated space to see and treat their patients. “This collaborative environment makes it easier for physicians to consult with each other about a patient’s treatment,” said Goldberg. “We also have multidisciplinary conferences to discuss more complex cases.”
“A unique part of our team is the breast care navigator,” said Goldberg. Linda Walton, RN, BSN, OCN has more than more than 20 years in breast cancer care at the tertiary level and is an oncology certified nurse. For the past 12 years, she worked at Washington Hospital Center’s Cancer Institute coordinating services and coordinating care for patients in their breast health center, which she also helped to develop.
Prior to that, she helped develop the breast center at Anne Arundel Medical Center. She has also worked at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center and in breast cancer research at the National Institutes of Health.
Her office is located in the diagnostic imaging center inside the dedicated women’s imaging suite. When there is an abnormal finding of any kind, Walton is immediately connected with the patient. This contact early in the process is key, said Goldberg. She helps lessen anxiety, by providing reassurance, explaining results and answering questions about her diagnosis and treatment options.
“It’s like learning a whole new language,” said Walton, “and I’m the interpreter. My role is to help our patients better understand the information being presented so they can make informed decisions.”
And when the diagnosis is cancer, Walton is there for them ev
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