Putnam General Hospital (PGH) has expanded its services in Eatonton with a new 3-D mammography machine, the GE Healthcare Senographe Pristina.
Hospital staff and leadership celebrated the occasion Feb. 12, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Eatonton-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce.
According to a recent press release, PGH is the first facility statewide to install the new technology outside the metro Atlanta-to-Savannah corridor. This places the hospital among a limited number of facilities statewide to provide the technology’s innovations, including Dueta™ patient-assisted compression and contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM).
The report noted that CEM is a diagnostic tool that “can highlight cancers that may not appear on a routine mammogram.” It can also work as an alternative to MRIs if that resource is not available or affordable.
PGH Foundation and Public Relations Director Brandy Jones emphasized the hospital’s need for the addition. She noted it can help local women avoid traveling far for assistance.
“We never want women in our community to feel like they have to travel hours away for high-quality care,” Jones said. “Bringing this new mammography technology to Putnam General Hospital, along with having a radiologist on site, means they can receive advanced screening and quick answers right here at home. At the end of the day, it’s about keeping high-quality healthcare close to home for the families who trust us.”
The PGH press release also mentioned the GE Healthcare Senographe Pristina includes the “Effortless Imaging Suite,” which streamlines physical tasks, allowing mammogram technologists and hospital staff to focus more on assisting patients.
Having the new technology at PGH allows it to begin offering more assistance to women, including on-site biopsy services during diagnostic mammograms. The hospital’s radiologist, Dr. Gary Dent, is also the founder of South Georgia Radiology Associates, which prioritizes expanding high-quality imaging services in rural Georgia.
To bring the technology into the facility, the PGH Foundation raised $100,000, including support from the local organization 100 Women Who Care. PGH will announce the organization’s final donation amount once finalized.