Beebe Breast Health Program granted accreditation

Beebe Healthcare’s Breast Health Program was granted a three-year full accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, a program administered by the American College of Surgeons.

Beebe’s Breast Health Program has treated more than 17,000 patients. It is the only program in Delaware to receive a three-year accreditation from NAPBC to date.

“This accreditation recognizes the attention to detail and to continuously improving processes that have made our clinical outcomes among the best in the nation,” said James Spellman, MD, a fellowship-trained surgical oncologist at Beebe. “This outstanding achievement is a credit to everyone at Beebe Healthcare - our board members, our physicians, our clinical staff and all of our employees.”

Beebe’s breast care experts provide comprehensive breast care for both women and men, and treat a wide range of breast conditions, including breast cancer and benign breast disease. Beebe’s team also follows women who are at an increased risk for developing breast cancer.

“Our breast health program seamlessly provides diagnostic services with surgery and outpatient treatment services and survivorship programs throughout the Beebe Healthcare system,” said Judith Ramirez, manager of Psychosocial Services, outreach, education and breast health services.

The program offers treatment for breast cancer and fully accredited breast imaging services including mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, breast ultrasound and ultrasound-guided breast biopsy.

Beebe Healthcare offers digital mammography services at four locations: Beebe Medical Center on Savannah Road in Lewes; the Eugene & Catherine Bookhammer Outpatient Center on Route 24 in Rehoboth Beach; Beebe Imaging at the new health campus on Route 18/404 in Georgetown; and Beebe Imaging center on Route 26 in Millville.

Accreditation by the NAPBC is only given to centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of quality breast care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance.

“Diagnostic imaging services at Beebe Healthcare are really expanding to meet the needs of the community,” said Dan Mapes, director of Diagnostic Services at Beebe Healthcare. “The start of excellent breast care begins with state-of-the-art imaging and experienced radiologists to interpret the images.”

To become accredited, each center must demonstrate compliance with standards established by the NAPBC for treating women who are diagnosed with the full spectrum of breast disease. A breast center that achieves NAPBC accreditation has demonstrated a firm commitment to offer its patients every significant advantage in their battle against breast disease.

The NAPBC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to the improvement of the quality of care and monitoring of outcomes of patients with diseases of the breast. This mission is pursued through standard-setting, scientific validation, and patient and professional education. Its board membership includes professionals from 20 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of breast care.

The American Cancer Society estimated there would be 232,340 patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the United States in 2013. In addition, hundreds of thousands of women who will deal with benign breast disease this year will require medical evaluation for treatment options

Beebe’s Breast Health Program has also been designated a Breast Imaging Center for Excellence by the American College of Radiology.

Receiving care at a NAPBC-accredited center ensures that a patient will have access to comprehensive care, including a full range of state-of-the-art services; multidisciplinary team approach to coordinate the best treatment options; information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options; and quality breast care close to home.

For more information about the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, go to www.accreditedbreastcenters.org.

Beebe Healthcare established Tunnell Cancer Center in 1995. It has received the Commission on Cancer's highest accreditation with commendation as a comprehensive community cancer center. Its clinical specialties are medical oncology/hematology and radiation oncology. It also offers a multidisciplinary approach for planning all cancer treatment. Nearly 250 patients visit the center each day.

For more information about Beebe, go to www.beebehealthcare.org.