FIRST FULL-TIME FEMALE RADIOLOGIST
CHAMPIONS NEW WOMEN’S SERVICES
AT PROVIDENCE HOOD RIVER

July 9, 2009

HOOD RIVER, Ore. - Radiologist Barbara Spezia, M.D., recently joined the diagnostic imaging team at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital to expand and enhance services for women. Dr. Spezia is the first full-time female radiologist to practice at Providence’s new women’s imaging center.

“I think Hood River is the perfect place to practice,” says Dr. Spezia. “I look forward to helping develop women's imaging services throughout the gorge. I am impressed with Providence’s radiology department - it has the technology equal to much larger hospitals and I can see there is a true commitment to excellence. I’ve been so impressed with the community, the hospital and the other radiologists.”

Dr. Spezia is a graduate of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, where she also completed her residency. “I think radiology is endlessly fascinating,” says Dr. Spezia. “I have been in private practice for nine years and have never had a single boring day.”

Dr. Spezia is from San Antonio and lives in Hood River with her husband and three children. “My family and I love the physical beauty of Hood River and the friendliness of the people,” she adds.

As part of Providence Hood River’s 36,000-square-foot hospital addition, the new Diagnostic Imaging Center has doubled in size. The center now includes a women’s imaging center specializing in screening and diagnostic mammography, pelvic and breast ultrasound, and bone density screening. The addition is part of a $50 million, 72,000- square-foot expansion and modernization project that will be completed in 2009.

For more information on Providence Hood River diagnostic imaging services, call 541-387-6328.

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Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital is part of Providence Health & Services, the state’s leading health system and largest private employer. Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital is a full-service, critical-access hospital with a 24-hour emergency department. Providence offers a wide range of health care services in the communities of the Columbia River Gorge through its clinics, care centers and senior living facilities.