The Women’s Atrium at Houston Northwest Medical Center opened in 1989, the same year the Berlin Wall fell, San Francisco experienced a 6.9 magnitude earthquake, and a first-class stamp cost just $.25. A lot has changed since then, but some things have stayed the same. The Women’s Atrium remains as committed today to providing quality health care for every stage of a woman’s life as when it opened 20 years ago. These days, however, advanced technology provides a higher level of patient care and services have been added to better meet the needs of women in the community.
“We are now on our third X-ray machine and we offer all digital mammograms that use less radiation than film mammography and are better in screening certain women for breast cancer,” says Annette Nieman, RT (R) (N), registered mammography technologist at Houston Northwest Medical Center, who has worked at the Women’s Atrium since July 1989. “Because we have been open for so long, we have many patients who come back for their mammograms year after year. They see the same staff members since so many of us have worked here such a long time. It’s like a one big, happy family where everyone gets along.”
Annette Nieman, RT (R) (N), registered mammography technologist who has worked in The Breast Center since it opened twenty years ago.
Several nurses who have worked in the Women's Atrium since it opened in 1989.
From left to right:
Dru Naradovy, RN 1 Atrium; Susan Blauvelt, RN, L & D; and Karen Wells, RN, L & D
When the Women’s Atrium opened the majority of rooms in postpartum were semi-private. Today, all rooms are private and improved fetal monitors as well as maternal monitoring in labor and delivery, postpartum and the neonatal intensive care unit allow staff to closely watch patients in case of potential complications. The remodeled Women’s Atrium also offers private labor and delivery suites, postpartum rooms that offer spa-like accommodations, in-room plasma screen televisions, a complimentary “on-demand” entertainment package, and a concierge room for family members. Other areas of the Women’s Atrium have been recently updated with new flooring, paint, window treatments and shower doors.
“We have undergone several facelifts over the years, but many nurses who work in labor and delivery have been here for years and are so knowledgeable,” says Linda Vitanza, RN, Labor & Delivery staff nurse at Houston Northwest Medical Center, who transferred to the Women’s Atrium when it opened after working in the hospital’s main operating rooms as a circulating nurse for 15 years. “We have such a stable unit, with many nurses having 20 to 30 years of experience. They have great nursing skills and provide excellent care.”
The Breast Center in the Women’s Atrium has been transformed as well. Film mammography has been replaced with all digital mammography, which uses the MammoPad® for a more comfortable mammogram, as well as breast magnetic resonance imaging. A streamlined registration and scheduling system allows patients easy access to services during extended hours, including evenings and weekends. A support group for breast cancer patients, which started in 1999 with eight women, now serves more than 100 and continues to grow. An educational series also is offered to newly diagnosed patients and their families in addition to the Look Good Feel Good program sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
“We may have grown bigger over the years, but we are still here to please and take care of our patients,” adds Nieman, who is already looking forward to the Women’s Atrium 25th anniversary. “This is a great place to work and we have wonderful patients. All of that is really worth celebrating.”
MammoPad is a registered trademark of Hologic, Inc.