Bank of Maine pledges $2,500 for digital mammography

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — The quest to bring digital mammography equipment to Houlton Regional Hospital received another boost Friday thanks to a $2,500 donation by the Bank of Maine’s Houlton branch.
    “The Bank of Maine has had a long-term relationship with the Foundation with members serving as board trustees over the years, and that relationship has provided strength in our fundraising efforts, not only with board member support, but with The Bank of Maine employees as well,” said Elizabeth Dulin, executive director for the Foundation.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
CHECK PRESENTATION — The Bank of Maine’s Houlton branch donated $2,500 to the Health Services Foundation for its digital mammography campaign. From left are, Dean Clark, senior vice president/regional manager of the Bank of Maine; Elizabeth Dulin, executive director for Health Services Foundation; and Susan McAfee, vice president/branch manager for the bank.
    “This grant reflects the way they feel about the communities they serve because it is their community, too. Their employees are drawn from the communities they serve and this only underscores the fact that these individuals recognize the important role Houlton Regional Hospital plays for family, friends and all those they care about when it comes to health care,” she added.
    Susan McAfee, vice president and branch manager for the Bank of Maine’s Houlton location said securing the money to donate was not difficult.
    “I took the request to our charitable foundation and they agreed to donate the money,” McAfee said. “This equipment is very much needed at the hospital.”
    Dean Clark, senior vice president and regional manager for the Bank of Maine, echoed those sentiments.
    “As a trustee on the (Health Services Foundation) board, I am very pleased that we were able to provide money through our charitable foundation for this great cause,” Clark said. “The Bank of Maine is pleased to be a contributor to this worthy cause.”
    The purchase of a GE Senographe Full Field Digital Mammography System will have far-reaching effects in the field of breast cancer screenings and give Houlton Regional the necessary tools for early detection of this very serious disease at the local level, according to Dulin.
    “We are grateful to The Bank Of Maine for their part in assisting us with this very important fund-raising effort,” she said.
    By bringing the digital mammography system to Houlton Regional Hospital, doctors will be better equipped for early detection of breast cancer with digital screenings. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, however, men as well, can face a breast cancer diagnosis. With this latest state-of-the-art digital mammography screening technology Houlton Regional will be able to provide for safe, compassionate, and quality healthcare in the field of breast cancer diagnosis, according to Dulin.
    “The new digital mammography system will assist in patient care by reducing patient exam time, allowing medical facilities to examine more patients who need mammograms, help decrease patient callbacks, and offer a more comprehensive view of the entire breast area,” Dulin said. “The GE system displays high quality patient images in seconds, providing technologists with quick verification of correct patient positioning.  Digital mammography offers practical advantages over film screen mammography by improving contrast, and the use of advanced computer and electronic technologies to manipulate the image in order to better ‘see’ certain breast tumors that are currently difficult to visualize on film screen mammography systems.
    “The Foundation’s mission of ‘Supporting Excellence in Healthcare’ is important to everyone we serve, as assisting our providers to attain equipment, capital improvements or offer programs genuinely needed in our communities would be far more difficult for them to achieve,” said Dulin.
    Anyone wishing further information regarding the digital mammography or other Foundation Projects, or to make a donation please call our office at 207-521-2147 or visit the website at www.healthservicesfoundation.org.