New Ultrasound Machine Provides Faster Diagnosis, Treatment at Providence Breast Clinic

A new ultrasound machine at the Providence Breast Health clinic is easing the way for patients, allowing Jess Welsh, M.D. to diagnose and start treatment in one appointment.

Dr. Welsh is the first breast surgeon employed by Providence in Eastern Washington. She is grateful to donors for funding an ultrasound machine in the breast clinic at the Providence Holy Family Medical Building.

A teenager with development delays, an elderly woman who struggles with travel to appointments and a lactating mother who needed to heal before feeding her baby again – all have benefited from the ultrasound machine. It allows patients to receive diagnostic treatment in a familiar space and by the medical team they know well, providing comfort and saving crucial time in determining next steps.

Before this technology was available in the clinic, Dr. Welsh needed to refer patients elsewhere for imaging appointments, delaying treatment for days or weeks.

The need for the Providence Breast Health clinic is clear in the Inland Northwest. Dr. Welsh said surgeries are booked for months. “Knowing we have the Foundation and donors who are willing to help our patients is huge.”