Both diagnostic and screening mammograms are offered at all Covenant Health facilities, including Thompson Cancer Survival Center (TCSC), Oak Ridge Breast Center, and the breast centers at Fort Sanders Parkwest and Sevier medical centers, and Fort Sanders West.

Diagnostic mammograms are recommended for women who have felt a lump or other abnormality. Results of diagnostic mammograms are shared with patients prior to their leaving the facility. Screening mammograms are suited for women who have no symptoms or implants and are a faster, lower-cost option for mammography. Women opting for a screening mammogram will receive their results within two weeks, unless, of course, a problem is detected. If additional views are needed, patients are contacted by our breast center staff.

Screening mammograms are also available through our mobile mammography program at TCSC. Mobile mammograms are offered at a variety of locations, including churches, hospitals, physician offices, and community centers, and serve the surrounding 16 county region.

Ultrasound and large core biopsy capabilities are also available within Covenant Health and are used to determine the nature of abnormal mammography findings.

When Methodist Medical Center and the Fort Sanders Health System joined to form Covenant Health, the union promised to bring better healthcare to our region. What does this mean for you?

"Patients can visit any one of our breast centers and know that they are receiving state-of-the-art care, by certified technologists in an accredited facility," said Elmeria Teffeteller, Director of Clinical Services at the Thompson Center.
"Knowing that you are receiving the most up-to-date care, by technologists who work on mammography-certified equipment is very comforting to our patients," said Teffeteller.

The American Cancer Society recommends that women, between the ages of 35 and 40, have a baseline mammogram and all women, over the age of 40, have annual mammograms.

One of the latest means is through contracts to provide care for Medicare patients through three regional health maintenance organizations (HMO's) -- John Deere Health Care Secure Plus, Blue Cross' Security Blue, and Cariten Healthcare's Medicare HMO. These plans are available to individuals who are age 65 or older and Medicare eligible or Medicare disabled.

In July, John Deere Health Care became the first managed-care company in East Tennessee to offer a Medicare HMO option.

"It is much less expensive for those who are Medicare-eligible," says Harold McNeese, spokesman for the John Deere HMO. "We have a large number of physicians and hospitals in our network. We are pleased to be affiliated with Covenant -- the quality hospitals that it has."

Benefits of Secure Plus, which costs $39 per month, include 100 percent of hospital costs, no deductibles, routine physicals, $10 doctor's office co-payments, vision and eyewear coverage and limited prescriptions. In addition, Secure Plus allows for special services including mental health care, skilled nursing and home health visits.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee expects to have their Medicare HMO, Security Blue, available to the public very soon. Security Blue will serve residents of Knox and Loudon counties.

Amy Sprinz, with Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee, says "We are committed to serving the senior population of Tennessee. Our partnership with Covenant Health to offer a Medicare HMO product is another indication of that continuing commitment."

Covenant Health hospitals are participating providers in these two plans, as well as in the new Medicare HMO plan in development by Cariten Healthcare. As partners in Covenant Health, Cariten and the Covenant hospitals have a long history of successful cooperation.

"Cariten has applied to provide Medicare HMO coverage for the fifteen-county region around Knoxville," says Cariten spokesperson Jill Thorton. "We are excited about the opportunity to help more East Tennesseans get access to the health care services they need."

Cariten Healthcare's Medicare HMO product should be available by mid-fall.