Story by Mike May | Photos by Abner Pedraza
There is a new medical facility in Wellington that focuses on women’s health and wellness for patients of all ages. The new Premier Women’s Health center at Premier Family Health in Wellington places the highest of priorities on the interests of its female patients.
In late September, Premier Family Health opened the new Premier Women’s Health center catering to female clientele from all sections of Palm Beach County.
Premier Women’s Health is designed to improve the health and well-being of all women in Palm Beach County by offering new, state-of-the-art technology and services, while collaborating with other hospitals, physicians and specialists focused on the healthcare of women.
There are now four centers at Premier Family Health, which is a patient-centered medical home that includes primary care, urgent care, ancillary services, and now, a center focused specifically on women’s health issues.
According to Dr. Vincent Apicella, the president and founder of Premier Family Health, the new Premier Women’s Health facility is a medical resource for all women.
“We are a one-stop shop for all women with any medical needs,” said Apicella, who earned his undergraduate degree from Florida Atlantic University and graduated from medical school at Nova Southeastern University. “We are also a safe space for women where they can come to share their medical issues and concerns with a trusted medical professional.”
Apicella stressed that it’s imperative that women here in the western communities have access to medical facilities that are female centric.
“We are specifically taking care of women who are some of the hardest-working people in our society as they work full-time and provide leadership in our community, while managing their families,” Apicella added. “We have built a personable environment that is a safe haven for females.”
Some of the many healthcare services provided for women at the Premier Women’s Health office include comprehensive mammograms, wellness exams, pap smears, bone density tests, contraceptive management and tests for infectious diseases.
One of the most popular services provided by Premier Women’s Health is the new high-tech mammogram procedure.
“With our 3D digital device from Siemens, it’s remarkable that we can see what we can see. We are seeing younger women with breast cancer,” Apicella explained. “We have a pain-free mammogram procedure. It’s life changing.”
It took about two years of planning by Apicella and his team for the Premier Women’s Health center to go from a concept to a reality.
“Obtaining preventive care services for women can often be extremely uncomfortable and hard,” Apicella said. “When we planned the Premier Women’s Health center, we wanted to create a unique, calming and spa-like experience.”
One of the delighted clients at Premier Women’s Health is longtime Wellington resident Angela Baker. She just recently had a mammogram at Premier Women’s Health and found it to be a great experience.
“From the moment I walked in the door, I was so impressed by everything, such as the atmosphere, the helpful staff, the new furniture and the new wallpaper,” Baker said. “And then, the actual mammogram experience was outstanding. The way it was done was extraordinary. It was above and beyond what I had expected. In fact, it was like going to a spa. I would recommend Premier Family Health and Premier Women’s Health to anybody.”
Baker’s next visit to Premier Women’s Health will be for her bone density test. She is actually looking forward to the experience.
“The staff there is very caring, and they do care a great deal about you,” Baker added.
It has not taken Premier Women’s Health very long to justify its need in the community.
“We are conducting anywhere from 12 to 16 mammograms a day,” Apicella said. “And, in two weeks, we have detected two cases of breast cancer.”
According to Candice Gorodess, a mammographer at Premier Women’s Health, one in eight women in the U.S. are affected by breast cancer, which underscores the importance of having access to this state-of-the-art technology.
One of the most impressive features at Premier Women’s Health is the new Siemens 3D Healthineers mammogram machine that is only featured in a few places in the U.S.
The X-ray arm of this new Siemens 3D machine sweeps in an arc over the woman’s breast area, where it captures images of the breast from multiple angles. Then, a computer produces a 3D image of the breast tissue on one-millimeter slices, which provide greater visibility for the radiologist to see the breast detail in a way never before possible.
The radiologist can then scroll through images of an entire breast like pages of a book. The additional 3D images make it possible for a radiologist to better evaluate the patient’s breast tissue, allowing radiologists to find breast cancers earlier and reduce the need for follow-up imaging.
With access to technology like the Siemens 3D Healthineers, Apicella said his team can better serve local patients.
“Our goal is to discover a problem before it becomes a bigger issue,” Apicella explained.
As an added benefit, the mammography device from Siemens reduces radiation exposure to the client by 30 percent.
While Premier Women’s Health prides itself on being a medical outlet where the services range from prevention to treatment, there are times when the staff needs outside assistance from specialists.
“We have established partnerships with a number of medical professionals in the area, such as medical doctors, local hospitals, diagnostic imaging centers and gynecologists,” Apicella said. “We are here to provide collaborative care.”
If you’re a woman who wants a medical facility that’s focused on making every patient’s care a top priority over, consider the new Premier Women’s Health office in Wellington, where the staff await your arrival.
Open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, Premier Women’s Health is located 1035 S. State Road 7, Suite 120A, in Wellington. For more information, call (561) 798-3030, ext. 5050.
