Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center's Breast Center Wins National Accreditation

Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center’s Breast Center 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.

Four other Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California have the NAPBC designation: Santa Clara, San Rafael, Santa Rosa and Vallejo.

“We are proud to receive this important accreditation from the NAPBC because it is recognition of the high quality care we provide our patients and members at Kaiser Permanente,” said Dr. Veronica Shim, breast surgeon, and medical director of the Oakland Breast Center located at 3801 Howe Street. Kaiser Permanente has provided breast care for many years but a stand-alone breast center opened in 2011.

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 the full spectrum 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.

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 (ACS) estimated that there would be 232,340 patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the United States in 20131. In addition, hundreds of thousands of women who will deal with benign breast disease this year will require medical evaluation for treatment options.

As a NAPBC-accredited center, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center has demonstrated a firm commitment to offer its patients every significant advantage in their battle against breast disease. Patients who receive care at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Breast Care Center 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

· Quality breast care close to home.

Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center’s Same Day Service for Breast Imaging is just one of the ways they provide advanced and personalized care to patients. “If a patient is called back from a screening mammogram or feels a breast lump and needs further evaluation, in many instances the patient can have everything done with just one trip,” says Dr. Lisa Kinoshita, Subchief of Breast Imaging. “This helps alleviate any anxiety for the patient and streamlines any necessary next steps.”

A multi-disciplinary approach to breast cancer treatment is also a hallmark of the Breast Care Center at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center. A Breast Care Conference is held every week at the hospital with representatives from surgery, radiology, pathology, oncology, nursing, genetics, reconstructive surgery and radiation oncology all in attendance.

During these conferences, newly diagnosed breast cancer cases are reviewed and a preliminary treatment recommendation is then formulated with input from a variety of disciplines, giving the patient a comprehensive treatment plan that is completely individual and unique to their personal circumstances, said Dr. Shim.

“We have worked very hard over the years to provide our members with the highest quality and best possible team approach,” added Dr. Shim. “Combined with a soothing setting and comprehensive range of services, we work to treat and support them, mind, body and spirit. Our greatest wish is that our members stay healthy, but when something happens, we are here to meet their needs. “

Breast Care Coordinators and Breast Imagining Coordinators then help patients navigate next steps, providing support and guidance.

Clinical trials are also a valuable tool available to patients at the Breast Care Center. The Kaiser Permanente Northern California Oncology Clinical Trials program is based at the Vallejo Medical Center and is one of the leading clinical trial groups in the nation.

“We consistently enroll more patients into the National Cancer Institute sponsored clinical trial program than any other institution or university in California,” says Dr. Lou Fehrenbacher, hematologist/oncologist and director of the Oncology Clinical Trials program. “Our clinical trials program offers new cutting-edge cancer therapy to all our members, including new emerging therapies not yet FDA approved for commercial use. We have more than 1,500 breast cancer patients actively enrolled in cancer treatment studies. We believe in providing the best, integrated care with access to expert medicine for all of our patients.”

For more information about the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, visit their Web site at www.accreditedbreastcenters.org.

Information and photo submitted by Kaiser.

CAPTION: The Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center Breast Center Team: Veronica Shim, MD, Assistant Physician in Chief, Director of Breast Care Services David Baer, MD, Chief, Department of Medical Oncology Leslie Manace, MD, Department of Genetics Jason Kelly, Chief, Department of Radiation Oncology Balaram Puligandla, Chief, Department of Pathology