NFL's "Crucial Catch" Breast Cancer Awareness Catches The Rose CEO's Attention

Reflections from Dorothy Gibbons after watching Houston Texans Breast Cancer Awareness game...

Watching the NFL players Thursday night decked out in their splashes of pink color made me pause. On the screen were big brawly men, running up and down the field, smacking into each other, sweat and testosterone dripping, yet there was no missing the hot pink shoes, gloves and helmet linings. 

The pink of course is to generate awareness about National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s a major miracle that the NFL adopted this cause and color but the even greater miracle is that all the advertising last night supported the single action women can take in this battle against breast cancer – have an annual mammogram. 

People often ask me what has changed in the breast cancer arena over these 28 years that I’ve been running The Rose. My first answer is “people talk about breast cancer now.”  They didn’t 28 years ago.  Women didn’t want to admit to having it, many folks didn’t realize it ran in the family because Grandmother or Aunt Jane never talked about it, some folks thought it was contagious. The list goes on and on. 

Today, people are more open, more willing to share their journey.  Pink Ribbons are displayed on windows, hang from buildings and bracelets. NFL players wear pink.

The other thing that hasn’t changed is mammography is still the gold standard and early detection equates to longer survival.  Yes, treatment is better, much better.  Yes, we have more advanced imaging procedures, different diagnostic tools. 

But having that annual mammogram can make all the difference in the world in living a long and active life.  It is a decision every woman needs to make; it is truly something she can do for herself. 

Thousands of women understand the importance of annual mammograms but don’t have the insurance or resources to have one.  That is when The Rose levels the playing field.  Our programs make it possible for an uninsured woman to have her screening; she has the same advantages of the insured women. She has the same chance at survival and at winning in this game of life.

One other thing that is different today as opposed to 28 years ago:  The Rose exists and is serving more women in more counties than ever before.  

Quality Breast Health Care Isn't Just a Slogan ...

We passed with flying colors!!! The Texas Department of State Health Services recently conducted an inspection of The Rose's two imaging centers and our mobile program.  All of the digital equipment were inspected. In addition, technologists and radiologists credentials were verified and all quality assurance and quality control tests were examined and found compliant. Because no violations were found, The Rose was granted a certificate of inspection.

Here's a note written by Dorothy Gibbons regarding longtime staff member Amy Rigsby and her leadership of the praiseworthy team ...

Dear Team,

As I read the many emails of Congratulations to Amy and her team (most deserved!) about passing the annual inspections, it struck me that most of us don’t realize the full depth and implications of the state inspection. 

First of all, if we had not passed, we would be closing our doors today.  It’s really that simple and that serious.  

Imagine if The Rose were not able to care for 35,000 plus women each year. Imagine if we all were looking for other jobs.  Yes the annual inspection is a big deal!

But the most important part of every annual inspection is that it guarantees that The Rose has met the highest standards of quality in mammography.  

It takes a whole heck of a lot to pass these inspections year after year and if we don’t pass we can’t be accredited—which is the Gold Standard in our field!

Passing inspection with NO VIOLATIONS means the highest quality of imaging for our patients.  We should all be proud!

It means that the machines and the technologists running those machines and the physicians who depend on the quality of the films to ensure their accuracy have all met or exceeded every test and every requirement.

It means that we do not have any issues with radiation control. It means that all parts of the mammography systems function at their highest.  Most community based breast centers average 2 machines, we have 10!!  Each of those machines had to be tested and pass.  Most community based breast centers have one or two physicians reading, last year we had 10 different physicians, and our documentation for each of them and their qualifications had to be flawless!

It means the Technologists have kept current with licensing and continuing education units and are qualified to perform the studies. 

It means that every morning, before even the first patient can be seen, our Quality Control Technologists have to run tests, document the findings, evaluate the levels, all to be sure that our systems are within the regulations.  Not a single patient could be screened if any of our quality control measures are out of line.

In the Centers, those lead QC Techs are Paula Miller at The Rose Galleria and Laura Alcala at Featherwood.  Donna Fehl used to be the lead QC Tech for Mobile and now Ashlyn Henry is handling that role.  But all of the Mobile Techs have to do some part of the QC in the field, so many thanks to Tran Lam and Pepper Darnall also.

Even though she will have a “fit” with me for sending this email out to everyone; we need to recognize Amy who has taken us through over two decades of inspections—without a single violation! 

For all the ways you’ve made sure our patients receive the highest quality, thank you Amy!

Again…Congratulations to all!

Early Voting Underway -- Your Vote Matters

As CEO and Co-Founder of The Rose, Dorothy Gibbons has seen the impact of elections as she advocates for women's access to care. As a result, she is a strong proponent of exercising the right to vote. In that light, she wanted to share the following from the recently released The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from the Brink that looks at the lives of women on the brink (and beyond) of economic instability and proposes suggestions on what can be done.

In 2014, 36 states will choose their governors, and 33 Senate seats will be up for election as well as thousands of additional openings from the state legislature to the school board. And in 2016, the nation will choose a new president. All of these elections create an opportunity for women voters to gain commitments from our political leaders to finish the undone work, including: expanding family and medical leave; ensuring high-quality early care and education for all children; and eliminating the wage gap so that these policies become an everyday reality for all women and their families. Voting is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to create local as well as national impact. -- The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from the Brink

Mammography Matters - An Op/Ed from Dorothy Gibbons

After almost 30 years of providing breast health services to more than 400,000 women, I can state the following without a single note of hesitation: Mammography matters.

That statement should be read as emphatically as possible within the confines of print.  I say it as CEO of The Rose, Houston’s “go to” resource for breast health care and the provider of much needed care in 25 counties.  When Dr. Dixie Melillo and I founded The Rose in 1986, we were clear about our nonprofit mission.  We had seen far too many women come for “treatment” in such late stages that all we could do was hold their hands until death took them.

Mammography matters. I say that to family, friends— any person I love— because I want their cancer found at its earliest possible stage and for them to have the best possible outcomes with the least amount of treatment.

Mammography matters. I say it as a woman who cannot fathom being told that something potentially malignant, such as DCIS, could be found in my breast and left there because it was deemed “acceptable since it’s non-invasive.” 

With my long history, I’m familiar with the uproar often caused when a “study” questions the value of an annual screening.  The British Medical Journal fanned the flames of debate last week when they published a report out of Canada questioning the value of a mammography screening and suggesting that a physical examination was adequate.

Mainstream media wasted no time in including rebuttals to the findings with experts noting that both the study’s information gathering and conclusions were “obviously flawed”. Unfortunately, inflammatory headlines often take on a life of their own in social media as they are retweeted and shared. Soon the headlines— not the facts—become the news.

The Canadian study immediately drew fire from the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI): 

"[The article] provides an incomplete picture of the costs versus benefit of breast cancer screening programs and is misleading. The costs of morbidity, lost income, treatment of metastatic disease, death, and other real financial implications associated with a diagnosis of advanced breast cancer due to less frequent screening were not considered in [this] analysis."

The groups also noted that if guidelines for less frequent mammograms were followed, approximately 6,500 to 10,000 additional women in the U.S. would die each year from breast cancer. One physician remarked, “We can't talk about how many dollars we'll save without also talking about how many lives we're going to lose.”

I agree.  We cannot place a price tag on a woman’s life. 

Until there is a cure, The Rose will continue to promote and provide mammograms.  We will continue to focus on the importance of preventive health screening.  We felt pretty helpless back in 1986 when insurance didn’t cover screening mammograms, few physicians recommended them and awareness about early detection was zilch. Then, as now, we tackled each challenge to access, and, one woman at a time, made mammograms affordable and accessible to any woman—insured or uninsured.

As a result, The Rose has seen a reduction in the stage of breast cancers diagnosed at our centers and through our mobile programs—especially among our uninsured population—mainly because we are returning to those populations and providing annual or semi-annual screening. 

How sad, that after nearly three decades, the controversy continues. With so many demands on their time and attention, women don’t need any reasons to delay screening; they need encouragement.

So, again I say, because women matter, mammography does indeed matter.

Dorothy Gibbons is CEO and Co-Founder of The Rose, the nonprofit breast health organization for southeast Texas which includes two imaging centers and a mobile fleet reaching 25 counties. 

Another Reason Why ...

Two things that do not mix well – ice and Houston roadways.

Two more things that don’t do well together – rolling out our Mobile Program to more corporate offices on the same week ice is predicted on Houston roadways.

If ever there were a good week to ask, “Why?” …

AND YET … as I knew they would, The Rose staff “rose” to the occasion.

Imagine the scene: It’s Monday and two of our Mobile Team members Lilia and Donna are taking care of Cyberonics employees in record time. I know this because Karen, who is part of our Communications staff, was live tweeting the day and she actually timed one patient as less than 15 min.  (By the way, I NEVER thought I would use the word “tweeting” in a sentence.) Meanwhile, Cindy, the manager of our Mobile Team, is back at our Featherwood location juggling calendars and sites who were already letting us know they were closing for the next day’s anticipated ice storm. In between patients, Donna calls to see if they can stay late to cover the women who were supposed to be on the docket for Cyberonics second day of screenings. That’s when she finds out Thursday just opened up. So now Lilia is notifying Kim at Cyberonics who is reaching out to her staff to make Tuesday become Thursday!

Are you still with me?

Even though the teams can’t go out on Tuesday, Donna finds time to do a bit of breast cancer awareness.  She builds an ice man and the tweet of that little pink-ribbon wearing creature got retweeted by our local weatherman!

Now we get to Wednesday and a very COLD morning. When I arrived early(before 6 AM), I see three sets of the Mobile Team all bundled up and overcoming hard to open doors and frozen lifts and loading equipment in less-than-ideal-conditions. What I didn’t know is that they’ve already had to use jumper cables on one of the vans to get it to start!

As Cindy told me later, “When push comes to shove, they truly are a team – they all waited on each other and made sure each other was okay and knew the routes to take since the HOV lanes were closed.”

Since United Airlines was on the books on Wednesday and it was the first time we were going to the downtown offices, we really wanted to make a good impression. Well … no worries! This “true team” netted praise throughout the day via emails and on Facebook …

It was really a great day – people genuinely appreciated the convenience of getting it done at work in just a few minutes.  I never dreamed it would be so popular! – Amy of United

Thank you for arranging for The Rose to come to the office and do mammograms. Walking back and forth between Jefferson and Smith took longer than checking in and completing the mammogram. Definite productivity saver instead of taking time from work for an appointment elsewhere. – Susan in email to organizers Amy and Debbie at United

One more "brag" on The Rose Houston and their mobile unit....if you have the good fortune that your employer schedules this event...please take advantage. I was in and out in 15 minutes and Donna the RN was friendly and made you feel comfortable. There are no more excuses not to take care of you! OK, off my soap box now! – Bobbye 

Thursday the Cyberonics rescheduled day not only went well, it also provided us with the opportunity to photograph and hear from their CEO Dan Moore who will be speaking at our April luncheon this year. After seeing firsthand his employees’ positive response to having the mobile onsite and hearing about our dream of having a fleet of mobile units caring for women across Texas, he offered several great suggestions to help us better communicate with corporate leaders.

As Karen, who had interviewed Dan for an upcoming story, recounted their discussion to me, I had to smile. I remember back to the day when I first told her to use “fleet” when talking about our vans. Karen paused and I knew she was questioning whether three vans could really be called a “fleet.” But as soon as I shared the dream of reaching counties where they have NO ACCESS to breast health care and breaking down barriers like those of convenience that often keep women from making the preventive appointments we know will save lives, she understood. And she’s used “fleet” ever since.

 
I love to dream. I love it even more when dreams start to seem like reality.

And this dream is shaping up. With people like Amy and Debbie at United, Michelle (our board member who connected us to Cyberonics), as well as Kim and Dan supporting us, I believe that our expanded fleet will be needed sooner rather than later.

So thank you to our great mobile team -- Amy, Cindy, Adriana, Ana, Donna, Kemper, Lilia, Maria, Pepper, Rosa, Tabitha, Tran, and Tressa.

You ALL warmed my heart this week. And that’s the best way to get through a cold week in Houston! 

 

Dorothy Gibbons is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Rose.

Why The Rose Exists -- Dorothy Gibbons Offers One Answer (of many)

Every organization must answer the question – in good times and especially in bad.

Why?  Why do we exist?

I know what our mission says. I know what our Annual Report shows.  But sometimes it pays to walk away from the details and the data and just listen.

A week ago, I met the owners of several Twin Peaks restaurants that held events in October and raised an amazing $43,886 for The Rose.

John, one of the three brothers and franchisees, took the time to share a story.  He explained that they also own a Mexican restaurant in Needville and on a weekly visit there, he noticed that one of his employees was absent.  When he asked why, he learned she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.  A few weeks later he caught up with her, and asked how she was doing.  She said, “I was sent to The Rose and they took care of everything.”

“Her story ‘sealed the deal’,” John said noting that they had already been in discussions about wanting to support a local organization with their efforts. Then he added, “That’s why everyone worked so hard to make the events so successful.”

Imagine the chances of this happening.  John wanted to raise money to “fight” breast cancer and his employee is sent to the one place whose reputation for “taking caring of everything” is second to none!
She had no idea that his other restaurants were raising money for The Rose, and John had no idea one of his own would be cared for by us.

Coincidence?  No … God.

And one of the reasons why The Rose exists.