Women diagnosed with breast cancer in Northwest Arkansas can be reassured they are receiving the best care available. On May 11, 2020, the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC,) a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has renewed the three-year accreditation to Arkansas Breast Cancer Specialists in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
First accredited as an NAPBC center in 2016, Arkansas Breast Cancer Specialists is a group of physicians, nurses, support staff, and other professionals who care for breast cancer patients in Northwest Arkansas that includes The Breast Center, A MANA Clinic; Highlands Oncology; Northwest Arkansas Pathology; as well as surgeons from Breast Cancer Treatment Associates; Northwest Arkansas Breast Care Specialists; Fayetteville Surgical Associates; and the Plastic Surgery Clinic of Northwest Arkansas.
“The goal of our team is to provide state of the art care for breast cancer patients in our area,” says Dr. Kevin Pope, who served as Director of the Arkansas Breast Cancer Specialists from 2014 through the current re-accreditation. “With this accreditation, we join an elite group of nationally recognized cancer centers.”
Nationally Accredited Care in Arkansas
As an NAPBC-accredited center, Arkansas Breast Cancer Specialists is committed to maintaining levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive, patient-centered, multidisciplinary care resulting in high-quality care for patients with breast disease. Patients receiving care at an NAPBC-accredited center have access to information on clinical trials and new treatments, genetic counseling, and patient-centered services including psycho-social support, and a survivorship care plan that documents the care each patient receives and seeks to improve cancer survivor’s quality of life.
Receiving care at an NAPBC-accredited center ensures that a patient will have access to:
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Comprehensive care, including a full range of services from diagnosis to treatment to recovery
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Genetic counseling for high-risk patients to help develop personalized care plans for each individual according to their specific risks
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A multidisciplinary team approach to coordinate the best treatment options
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Information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options
Multidisciplinary Team Approach
Although ABCS physicians practice medicine in independent groups, they have functioned as a team for years in providing quality, coordinated breast care to Arkansans.
Dr. Pope noted the effectiveness of ABCS’s unique group structure, saying, “The Arkansas Breast Cancer Specialists represents a consortium of medical clinics and professionals that work as a team to provide quality care for breast cancer patients in Northwest Arkansas. Doctors, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, and nurse navigators bring their knowledge expertise, and experience to the care of each patient, using a multidisciplinary model that has been proven to results in better patient outcomes. ABCS is proud to be considered a leader in using this approach to serve patients in our community.”
To receive the accreditation, the group must demonstrate compliance with standards established by the NAPBC for treating women who are diagnosed with the full spectrum of breast disease. The standards include proficiency in the areas of: the center’s leadership, clinical services, 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.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimated that there would be 276,480 new cases of with invasive breast cancer in the United States in 2020. In addition, hundreds of thousands of women who will deal with benign breast disease this year will require medical evaluation for treatment options.
For more information about the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, visit their Web site atwww.accreditedbreastcenters.org.
- American Cancer Society, About Breast Cancer. American Cancer Society, Inc. 2020.