In 1999 an opportunity appeared which greatly advanced the breast care landscape in Annapolis Maryland.  Dr. Lorraine Tafra seized this opportunity and upon her arrival to Annapolis, from a university hospital where she practiced the full breadth of surgical oncology, she founded a Breast Center, that upon inception, was simply a nurse in a cubicle.

 

But she had a vision of breast care that viewed the processes, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship strategies from the patient's perspective. She immediately got to work and recruited a team that sought to make a breast care pathway tailored for each individual patient and as seamless as possible for the patient, the physicians, and the staff.

 

Over the subsequent twenty four years the breast center became endowed (now the Rebecca Fortney Breast Center), grew to engage a large team of breast surgeons and plastics surgeons, increased from managing less than 50 breast cancers a year to over 800, grew market share from less than 5% to over 85%, founded the first breast fellowship in Maryland, trained numerous Johns Hopkins and Walter Reed surgical oncology fellows and research residents, built a robust research program, published and gave talks nationally, and mentored other programs both nationally and internationally.

 

Throughout this growth she worked with several administrative leaders in the hospital system, to partner on this path of growth and development. One partner stood out as the most capable administrative colleague. Linda Solarek had a combination of integrity, intellectual curiosity, and the unerring determination, as a breast cancer survivor herself, to create an impeccably wonderful experience for the patient.

 

In addition, she brought a wealth of business experience from the non-medical world that brought a fresh look at all aspects of the care delivery system. This allowed the Fortney to blossom in a way not previously realized. As partners, they were able to uplift the level of care, incorporate innovation and cost saving strategies, and increase growth beyond all prior efforts.

 

It was a startling and amazing moment, when they both realized that together they just might be able to positively impact the breast world through a collaboration to mentor breast programs around the country.  Together they have recruited an amazing team of talented and experienced national breast disease leaders and experts enthusiastic to join this mission.  By coaching other programs to benefit from the team's wisdom and experience, fostering a culture that attracts patients, and replicating the success achieved by each of our experts, the landscape and delivery of breast care will improve.