St. Luke’s Diagnostic Breast Imaging Expertise Coming to Gnaden Huetten Campus

Lehighton, Pennsylvania _ St. Luke’s University Health Network’s highly experienced and fellowship-trained breast imagers will be available at the Gnaden Huetten Campus on Fridays starting Aug. 16.

Diagnostic breast imaging is appropriate for women who have had a screening mammogram and whose results indicate a need for diagnostic breast imaging. “We are proud of our highly qualified breast imagers, three of whom are fellowship-trained,” said Joseph P. Russo, MD, Section Chief of Women’s Imaging for St. Luke’s University Health Network. “They will rotate and bring their wealth of imaging experience to the Gnaden Huetten campus each week.”

Dr. Russo said women who are called back for further breast imaging or biopsy can be alarmed, but having the quality of radiologists they will see at any of St. Luke’s imaging centers should help put their minds at ease.

At the breast centers, breast health nurses guide patients through every step of the diagnostic process. In many cases, same-day or next day biopsy can be performed so women get their results as fast as possible. “St. Luke’s is committed to providing women with great access to the highest quality breast imaging and is focused on getting those results to patients as quickly as possible to reduce a women’s anxiety,” said Michele Giletto, Network Director of Women’s Imaging. “We are excited to be bringing this expertise directly to the Gnaden Huetten campus.”

Women who need diagnostic breast imaging can schedule an appointment on a Friday at the Gnaden Huetten Campus. The center will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Women who don’t want to wait to schedule their appointment for a Friday can travel to one of the three Regional Breast Centers located throughout St. Luke’s network.

Patients at GH can look forward to a new mammography suite opening in the fall, Giletto said. The suite also is designed to comfort anxious patients.

For more information, or to make an appointment, call Central Scheduling at 484-526-1000 or 800-801-7745 (toll-free).

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 15,000 employees providing services at 10 hospitals and 300 outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the Lehigh Valley’s first and only regional medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 34 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 263 residents and fellows.  St. Luke’s is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system with Medicare’s five- and four-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  St. Luke’s is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  In 2019, three of IBM Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals were St. Luke’s hospitals.  St. Luke’s University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health seven times total and five years in a row. St. Luke’s has also been cited by IBM Watson Health as a 50 Top Cardiovascular Program.  Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.