Beebe Center for Breast Health earns reaccreditation
Beebe Healthcare announced its Center for Breast Health has earned reaccreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.
Programs that are accredited by the NAPBC follow a model for organizing and managing a breast center to facilitate multidisciplinary, integrated, comprehensive breast cancer services.
Beebe’s most recent accreditation was achieved in alignment with new quality standards and requirements established by NAPBC. The center was one of just six across the country selected to participate in a pilot program, with data analysis and a site visit conducted in line with the newly established standards.
Beebe has the only NAPBC-accredited breast program in Delaware. A quality program of the American College of Surgeons, the NAPBC is a consortium of professional organizations from across the U.S. that are focused on breast health and dedicated to improving quality outcomes for patients. NAPBC evaluates a breast center’s leadership, scope of clinical services, research engagement, community outreach efforts, professional education pursuits and quality improvement data.
Accreditation is granted only to those breast programs that are committed to providing the highest-quality, outcomes-based care for patients, and have met and maintained the accreditation standards.
“Our reaccreditation affirms Beebe’s commitment to maintaining and increasing excellence in the delivery of comprehensive, patient-centered, multidisciplinary care for those diagnosed with or at risk for breast cancer,” said Diana Dickson-Witmer, MD, FACS, a board-certified surgeon who leads the Center for Breast Health.
The Center for Breast Health at Beebe is a collaboration among breast surgical oncologists, nurse navigators, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, multiple nurse practitioners and physician assistants, social workers and others working as a well-coordinated team, with the sole purpose of guiding patients every step of the way through their breast cancer treatment journeys.
“The team does not stop when treatment is finished, but continues to shepherd the patient and his or her family into survivorship,” Dickson-Witmer said. “Nor does the breast program at Beebe limit its care for the community to those with breast disease. We are working alongside our colleagues in primary care and population health to identify individuals at higher risk of developing breast cancer, and to provide them with personalized strategies and screening recommendations to reduce their risk. As our continuous NABPC accreditation from 2013 to the present shows, we do all of this by adhering to the highest evidence-based standards and through ongoing quality improvement.”
Beebe’s reaccreditation comes at a time of significant growth for the Center for Breast Health. In October, the center celebrated the opening of a newly outfitted location on Beebe’s Rehoboth Health Campus.
In the new location, patients have access to the most advanced clinical services and innovative technologies to streamline the process of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. The new facility allows Beebe to shorten the timeline between an abnormal mammogram or finding of a lump and treatment for the problem. The focus is on helping each patient achieve the best possible clinical outcomes while also having a superior patient experience.
Also in October, fellowship-trained breast surgical oncologist, Karen Barbosa, DO, FACOS, joined the practice. Together, she, Dickson-Witmer and fellowship-trained breast surgeon Matthew Richards, MD, are positioning Beebe as a destination for the highest-quality, most comprehensive breast care that can be found in the region.
“Our community deserves top-of-the-line breast care close to home,” said Dr. David A. Tam, Beebe Healthcare president and CEO. “The latest, most advanced treatment options are available right here in Sussex County at Beebe Healthcare. We are incredibly proud of our growth, commitment to quality and how both are allowing us to touch people’s lives in very meaningful ways.”
