Recognition Honors Dedication to Providing Patients the Highest Quality Care
The National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) renewed accreditation of the ThedaCare Breast Centers, recognizing the health system’s dedication to improving the quality of care and monitoring the outcome of patients with breast diseases.
The breast centers, which serve patients at Appleton Medical Center, Encircle Health, and Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, received its first three-year accreditation in 2011. The centers applied for accreditation so patients and community members can feel confident they are receiving the best comprehensive and collaborative care in the country, right here at home, said Karen Flom, ThedaCare’s radiation oncology manager.
“Patients coming to the ThedaCare Breast Centers should be assured they are seeing highly trained breast surgeons and mammographers,” she said. “This recognition is about our staff members and the consistent, high-quality care they provide to our patients.”
ThedaCare Breast Centers join about 200 national centers to go through NAPBC’s rigorous application process and onsite survey. They are the only accredited breast centers in the Fox Cities. To receive the three-year certification, ThedaCare met 27 program standards and 17 program components of care, which the NAPBC established to ensure facilities are providing the most efficient and contemporary care possible for patients diagnosed with breast diseases.
“This accreditation provides proof to patients that the ThedaCare Breast Centers met all 27 standards set by the American College of Surgeons for the highest quality of breast cancer care. The standards address all aspects of breast cancer, from diagnosis to treatment, including survivorship and integrative medicine,” said breast surgeon Honnie Bermas, MD, who treats patients in surgical oncology at Fox Valley Surgical Associates at Appleton Medical Center.
Patients who receive their care at an accredited center receive many benefits, said Dr. Bermas. At ThedaCare Breast Centers, patients can be confident that the center has in place the most important diagnostic, research and support components, which may not be available at other, non-accredited centers. Components include: imaging, needle biopsy, pathology, interdisciplinary conferences, patient navigation, genetic evaluation and management, surgical care, research, lymphedema, plastic surgery and reconstruction, education, support, rehabilitation, nursing, quality improvement, and up-to-date medical and radiation oncology options.
A significant component is ThedaCare’s multidisciplinary breast care conferences. These weekly meetings bring all aspects of a patient’s care – namely, experts in pathology, surgery, radio-oncology and medical oncology and mental health – together in one room to discuss and review cases.
“We are proud of the accreditation and feel that it guarantees our patients a high standard of care. Everything gets reviewed, nothing is missed. We’re dotting all the I’s, crossing the T’s, and making sure patient care is as up-to-date as possible,” Dr. Bermas said. “That is a huge standard for breast care and a big benefit to receiving care at an accredited cancer center.”
ThedaCare™ is a community health system consisting of five hospitals: Appleton Medical Center, Theda Clark Medical Center, New London Family Medical Center, Shawano Medical Center, and Riverside Medical Center in Waupaca. ThedaCare also includes ThedaCare Physicians, ThedaCare Behavioral Health, ThedaCare At Work, and ThedaCare at Home. ThedaCare is one of the largest employers in Northeast Wisconsin with more than 6,175 employees. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
