Good Samaritan Hospital’s Center for Breast Health Receives National Accreditation for High-Quality Care and Treatment by NAPBC

SUFFERN, N.Y. (June 19, 2018) - Patients seeking breast care have a high-quality choice for receiving treatment at a nationally accredited program that meets the highest standards for patient safety and quality of care in Rockland County.

The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), has been granted a three-year full accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. Accreditation by the NAPBC is only given to those 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.

During the survey process, the center must demonstrate compliance with standards established by the NAPBC for treating women who are diagnosed with any type of breast disease. The standards include proficiency in the areas of: center leadership, clinical management, research, community outreach, professional education and quality improvement. 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.

"We have developed a program that is completely patient-focused from the time that they come in for screening mammography through the process of diagnosis and treatment," said Karen Karsif, MD, Medical Director of The Center for Breast Health. "At each step, the physical and emotional needs of the patients are assessed by a multidisciplinary team. In order for this nationally accredited program to be successful, we utilize physicians, nurses, social workers and navigators who all work as a team to deliver high quality patient care."

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimated that there were 252,710 new cases of invasive breast cancer and that 40,610 of these cases resulted in death last year. In addition, several women will deal with benign breast disease this year will require medical evaluation for treatment options.

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, a multidisciplinary team approach to coordinate the best treatment options, information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options and most importantly -- quality breast care close to home.

WMCHealth's Comprehensive Breast Health Program

The newly-accredited Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital is a component of WMCHealth's comprehensive, region-wide breast health program. The program has a multi-disciplinary team of clinical specialsts accross multiple campuses and includes WMCHealth's 5,000-square-foot Women's Imaging Center in Valhalla; the breast health program and Women's Imaging Center at MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie; and the Fern Feldman Anolick Center for Breast Health at HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary's Avenue Campus in Kingston. MidHudson Regional Hospital and HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary's Avenue Campus are members of WMCHealth.