Next Level Care Under Construction

parade with family, friends and – most special to her – former and current poms squad members that she coaches with her daughter at Gaithersburg High School.

As Brenda sat for her first infusion treatment, she prayed. She asked God and the Holy Spirit to guide the medication to kill the cancer so she could do God’s work through this experience. She says she felt God’s grace come upon her and He gave her the thought, “I will be the victor, not the victim.”

Soon after treatment, Brenda started to become anxious about recurrence. She discussed her concerns with Dr. Sen Gupta, who made the introduction to Lindsey Wise, oncology social worker at the Aquilino Cancer Center. Now, a year after treatment, Brenda meets with Lindsey to find purpose and understanding in her diagnosis.

COMMUNITY OF CARE

Lindsey is not the only support at the Aquilino Cancer Center. As part of a shift toward providing whole-person cancer care, free resources are available to help with the nutritional, emotional, spiritual and financial needs of patients and their families. Lindsey shared that “ensuring everyone, including family members, has access to these resources is part of what makes the Aquilino Cancer Center special.”

Brenda’s goal is to share God’s message of her experience, encourage women to get screened and support other women going through a similar situation.

Brenda explained, “Fighting breast cancer was something God and I did together. I never wondered ‘Why me?’ The statistics show 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, so my thought was always, ‘Why not me?’”

Early detection is the best protection. Take our free, online health risk assessment to learn your risk for breast cancer at AHCYou.com/ F22KnowYourRisk.

Next Level Care

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Community members will see changes at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center campus in Rockville, Maryland, this fall as the hospital breaks ground on its new patient care tower.

CREWS will begin constructing the hospital’s new 150,352-square-foot, six-story tower in front of Shady Grove Medical Center’s existing Emergency department entrance. During construction, patients seeking emergency care at Shady Grove will use a dedicated doorway at the hospital’s main entrance. Patients will undergo an initial evaluation in a triage room off the main lobby. Then, caregivers will escort patients to the Emergency department or another area of the hospital for care.

The construction will create a more modern replacement for Shady Grove’s Emergency department, which serves nearly 90,000 patients per year in Rockville. Shady Grove also provides emergency care to the community at its full-service, freestanding Germantown Emergency Center.

The new hospital tower will also: • Create a state-of-the-art, replacement Intensive Care Unit • Add a new medical-surgical unit to complete the hospital’s transition to all-private patient rooms • Move the hospital’s helipad to the rooftop • Provide greenspace and patios for patients, their loved ones and caregivers to find respite outdoors. • Reposition critical care, observation and emergency mental health units to allow caregivers to work more efficiently.

The tower is anticipated to open in 2024. Keep up with the latest on Shady Grove’s tower construction and learn how you can make a financial gift to support the project. Visit AHCYOU.com/F22Tower.