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Dawn Johnson Leonard, M.D., has been appointed medical director of the Herman & Walter Samuelson Breast Care Center at Northwest Hospital. Leonard is a fellowship-trained breast surgeon and is certified by the American Board of Surgery. Her appointment follows the grand reopening of the center a month ago in a more expansive, spa-like space near the hospital’s main entrance.

“The contributions Dr. Leonard will make as medical director will allow Northwest Hospital to provide comprehensive breast care in a timely manner for our patients,” says Erik Wexler, president of Northwest Hospital. “Now, women of northwest Baltimore city and Baltimore, Howard and Carroll counties not only have convenient access to some of the most advanced tools for the early detection of breast cancer, but can also – thanks to Dr. Leonard’s expertise – receive the best breast cancer surgical treatment options under the Samuelson Breast Care Center’s auspices.”

Prior to joining the staff at Northwest Hospital, Leonard was founder and chief executive officer of Leonard Surgical Care Associates in Frederick, Maryland. She was the first medical director of the Coordinated Breast Services Program at Frederick Memorial Hospital and was a clinical instructor in the Division of General Surgery at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Leonard received her medical degree from Howard University. She completed a residency in general surgery there and a breast surgical oncology fellowship at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. In addition, Leonard trained in plastic surgery.

To facilitate the best approach to treating breast cancer, the new center has a dedicated room for weekly multidisciplinary cancer conferences so oncologists, radiologists and cancer surgeons arrive at an ideal treatment plan for each patient. The center also recently created the position of breast nurse navigator, who helps patients coordinate their care and find answers to their questions. The center provides a continuum of care through LifeBridge Health’s Alvin and Lois Lapidus Cancer Institute, with chemotherapy offered at Northwest’s Infusion & Cancer Therapy Center and radiation therapy at Sinai Hospital or the Radiation Oncology Center at Owings Mills.

Northwest Hospital is part of LifeBridge Health, one of Baltimore’s largest health organizations that includes Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, and Courtland Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. For more information, visit www.lifebridgehealth.org.