Houston Mammograms: New Rose Galleria Opens January 19 in State-of-the-Art, Upscale West Loop Location; Breast-care Nonprofit Bucks National Recession Trend with Growth, Expansion

    HOUSTON, TX, January 13, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A 24-year-old breast cancer organization that last year delivered more than 68,000 medical and educational services to both uninsured and insured Houston-area women, is celebrating the grand opening of an 8,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art Galleria location.

The Rose Galleria grand opening is January 19. The center is located at 5420 West Loop South inside the Foundation Surgical Hospital Medical Tower near the intersection of Interstate 59 and Loop 610 South.

The Galleria location will extend the reach of The Rose, which operates another comprehensive diagnostic center in southeast Houston, said CEO Dorothy Weston Gibbons, who co-founded the nonprofit in 1986 with Houston surgeon Dixie Mellillo, M.D.

"Our services reduce deaths from breast cancer by providing screening, diagnostic follow-up, access to treatment, patient navigation, support and education," said Gibbons. "We provide access to treatment for all women, regardless of their ability to pay. We don't turn any woman away."

"The key to our sustainability is simple and effective," she said. "At The Rose, a woman with insurance actually offsets the cost of a mammogram for a woman who has none." In 2009, The Rose performed more than 43,000 screening and diagnostic procedures serving 19,500 women who have the ability to pay and 8,100 uninsured women. The breast center has 80 staff members and four on-site medical staff, including two radiologists and two general surgeons. Two mobile mammography units serve the surrounding 9-county area.

Gibbons said the new Rose Galleria answers Houston's growing demand for breast care services. "Access to care is an issue for every woman - insured and uninsured. The Galleria site gives us the additional capacity to provide digital imaging, including bone density. Our patients get timely appointments and same-day results in a convenient location that has free parking." The growing population of women reaching breast screening age was another consideration for establishing the Galleria location, she said.

INFORMATION - To tour The Rose Galleria, or to make a mammogram appointment, call (713) 668-2996, or visit www.therose.org. For media information, call Sharon Dotson at Bayou City Public Relations at (281) 859-9800. Media tours, interviews and photo opportunities available upon request.

ABOUT THE ROSE -- At The Rose, a woman with insurance actually offsets the cost of a mammogram for a woman who has no insurance." In 2009, The Rose performed more than 43,000 screening and diagnostic procedures serving 8,100 uninsured women and 19,500 women who have insurance or otherwise have the ability to pay. The Rose has 80 staff members and four on-site medical staff, including two radiologists and two general surgeons. Two mobile mammography units serve the surrounding 9-county area.

Website: http://www.therose.org

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