Mammographers, nurses leaving renown breast health center

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Personal and professional differences may have resulted in the departure of three mammographers and two nurses from a nationally recognized breast health center. <br><br>Drs. Debra

Monday, December 2nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Personal and professional differences may have resulted in the departure of three mammographers and two nurses from a nationally recognized breast health center.

Drs. Debra Mitchell, Carol Sheldon and Kelly McDonough who are also radiologists, are leaving the OU Breast Institute on Jan. 31. They're opening their own breast cancer diagnosis center in Edmond _ Breast Imaging of Oklahoma.

``I left the OU Breast Institute so that I could practice in a healthy, collegial environment where patient care is the foremost priority,'' Mitchell told The Daily Oklahoman.

Neither Sheldon nor McDonough was available for comment.

The Oklahoman quoted sources as saying the women were leaving because of differences with Dr. William C. Dooley, the institute's former medical director and current director of surgical oncology.

Dooley is a nationally known breast cancer researcher and clinician who helped pioneer the ``ductal lavage'' diagnostic tool for detecting breast cancer at its earliest stages.

``I have instituted efforts to modernize and improve the quality of care rendered to cancer patients and bring up the standards of breast cancer treatment,'' said Dooley, who acknowledged problems at the center.

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center administrators are searching nationwide to fill the three vacancies.

Also resigning is research nurse Melissa Craft. Barbara Holmberg, who worked with breast institute patients as an OU nurse practitioner, is resigning as well. They are joining the Edmond practice.

The state Health Department fears the changes will hurt its breast cancer diagnosis and treatment program for poor, uninsured women.

The OU Breast Institute has been the state Health Department's primary referral resource for the Take Charge program for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

The program has screened 17,064 women for breast cancer since 1995.

Many patients now may have to wait up to four months for a diagnostic procedure such as a biopsy, said Adeline Yerkes, chronic disease director for the state Health Department.

``Women need to be seen within 60 days of an abnormal screening mammogram or an abnormal clinical breast examination,'' Yerkes said.

Jane Harlow, president of the 21-member OU Breast Institute advisory board, said staffing and other disagreements have been difficult.

``It's unfortunate that these things have occurred. But we support the breast institute's mission, and we're going to weather this storm,'' she said.

Before Dooley's arrival in Oklahoma City, 86.9 percent of the Health Department's clients had some type of post-operative complications, including severe pain, Yerkes said.

After Dooley started handling Take Charge patients, only 2.6 percent of patients have had complications, she said.

Mitchell said she can't speculate on how her resignation and those of her colleagues will affect the Take Charge program.

She said she hopes other radiologists will help serve low-income Oklahoma women.

``The reason that the contract with OU has been so successful is that our group of breast radiologists have been very supportive of the program. The next breast radiologists at OU may or may not be as supportive,'' Mitchell said.