GREENVILLE—Bon Secours St. Francis Health System opened the Pearlie Harris Center for Breast Health on Oct. 28.
The center was named after Harris, a member of St. Mary Church, at the request of an anonymous donor. She is the first African American chair of Bon Secours St. Francis Health System.
“I pray that God will continue to bless the family of our health system; that we continue to be a leader in all we do for patients, friends and community relations and keep the wonderful doctors and nurses who give so much love, devotion and compassion with respect for everyone in this environment,” Harris said in a press release.
Harris, who lives in Mauldin, is an active volunteer in her community and is involved in the South Carolina Conference of Catholic Women. She was named 2010 SCCCW Woman of the Year.
She is also an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, and a member of the Board of directors of the Greenville County Museum of Art.
Harris began volunteering at the hospital after retiring from education. She started at the hospital’s receptionist desk and lent her talents where they were needed.
The $3 million state of the art center “has been in the planning stages for more than three years and designed and built to bring together the most advanced technology with our mission of compassionate, total patient-centered care approach,” said Mark Nantz, CEO of Bon Secours St. Francis Health System.
That technology includes: full field digital mammography, image checker computer aided detection, MRI and UltraSound. The center operates Monday through Saturday so tests can be scheduled the same day. It is located at the 131 Commonwealth Building, adjacent to St. Francis Eastside Hospital