Together Women’s Health opens new imaging center

Anthony Ahee addresses attendees of the ribbon-cutting event.

His stepmother’s experience as an OB-GYN — her selfless dedication to patients and strong relationships with women in the community she served — helped steer Anthony Ahee onto the path of healthcare. 

“The OB-GYN community is under-compensated and demanding, physically and emotionally,” he said. “It always stuck with me. In the type of care she provides — she was in a specialty — she went to medical school to provide this service, but the administrative burden it provides sometimes is a distraction from what she’s trained to do.”

To preserve the elements of private practice and bring resources and development to those practices so they thrive, Ahee formed Together Women’s Health, a management service organization headquartered in the City of Grosse Pointe. 

“Our job is to provide providers, HR support, marketing support, accounting,” he said. “We’ve got the easy job. Providers are the ones driving relationships and care plans, improving outcomes for patients throughout the country.”

Since its start in 2021, TWH has partnered with leading physicians to become a premier network of women’s health services in the U.S. Its affiliate network consists of 17 practices with more than 160 providers — 75 of them in Michigan — delivering women’s health services at more than 35 locations, including in Grosse Pointe, Roseville, Royal Oak, Birmingham and Dearborn.

“We’re now in six states with two more coming,” Ahee said. “We’re just shy of 200 healthcare providers in the Together Women’s Health family.

Photos courtesy of John Martin Photography
The clinic’s staff, from left, Stephanie Mathews, ultrasounad technician; Shannon McCaig, practice coordinator; Linda Longo, vice president of operations; Dr. Zeynep Yilmaz-Saab, lead radiologist; Lisa Cooper, mammogram technician; and Lisa Christenson, nurse navigator.

“… We spend time building out practices from an administrative perspective,” he said, noting the goal is to support practices by bringing in new services and technology, while providing better patient services and better care. “… We’re big on what creates an enduring sustainable private practice. We invest in team members and physicians.”

Locally the service is expanding, as TWH recently opened a diagnostic imaging center on Main Street in Royal Oak. A ribbon-cutting and open house were hosted Nov. 13, at the new facility, which was chosen for its central location among TWH practice locations.

“It’s got state-of-the-art equipment, a nice job-creating environment and is very patient friendly,” Ahee said. “It caters toward the patient experience.”

TWH’s new imaging center offers comprehensive preventive mammogram screenings, breast ultrasounds, diagnostic imaging and breast biopsies, led by a team of fellowship-trained radiologists specializing in breast imaging. The physician team includes Dr. Zeynep Yilmaz-Saab and Dr. Kelly McAleese.

Yilmaz-Saab earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, completed a Doctor of Medicine degree at Wayne State University and returned to U-M for her residency in radiology and breast imaging fellowship.

McAleese is the founder and medical director of The Women’s Imaging Center, a TWH affiliate practice, which has five locations throughout metropolitan Denver. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford, completed a Doctor of Medicine degree at Dartmouth Medical School and her residency in radiology at the University of Arizona. 

“The Women’s Imaging Center is our partner in Denver,” Ahee said. “The lead doctor built a model based on service and serving the community. We took her best practices to launch this in the community, so we’re delivering the best care and the best patient experience.”

“We are committed to advancing women’s health by offering innovative and comprehensive care using the latest imaging technology, ensuring timely and accurate diagnoses,” Yilmaz-Saab said. “Our dedicated team of radiologists, technologists and nurse navigators work closely with patients, offering support and expertise to make the imaging process as comfortable as possible.”

Part of that process means not only promoting the importance of screening mammograms, but also cutting down on wait time following a screening.

“Having to wait a substantial amount of time is a disservice,” Ahee said. “We’re creating access to screening mammograms, which is important to us. As we launch the center in a highly populated area, we’re sharing the importance of getting that screening done.

“… If you get an abnormal mammogram, you don’t want to wait weeks or months,” he added. “How can we solve this? Let’s bring in the best radiologists and have a central diagnostics center that practices can send their patients to for same-day or next-day diagnostics within the community. It’s important because we’re thinking of the entire healthcare journey for women. … Whether it’s preventative care or diagnostic, there might be fear. We’re making them feel comfortable at a time that’s so important.”

Patients also will be reminded of their next visit, as well as able to schedule annual visits and mammograms at one time.

Of course, he added, keeping costs low also is front of mind.

“When we’re providing care in office, diagnostic is at a fraction of the price for that care in more traditional settings. You get a better experience, better outcomes in that setting that doesn’t cost as much in total cost of care.”

The imaging center is not restricted to patients of TWH-affiliated practices.

“Anyone can come in off the street for preventative care,” Ahee said. “Mammograms don’t need a referral. We want to appeal to the community at large so they can be supported and served.

“… Early detection is the best defense against breast cancer and expanding access to women’s imaging services supports our philosophy of investing in preventive care,” he added.

For more information, visit togetherwomenshealth.com or email [email protected].