Clara Maass Hospital Marks 2 Milestones: Breast Cancer, Cardiac Care

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville recently marked two milestones at the North Jersey-based hospital: a “hallmark of excellence” from a breast cancer accreditation program, and an expansion to its cardiac care program.

According to a news release from the hospital, a RWJBarnabas Health facility, it recently received a certificate of accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program of the American College of Surgeons Quality Portal.

The designation is a “hallmark of excellence,” Clara Maass spokespeople said.

According to hospital administrators:

“To achieve NAPBC accreditation, the Center for Breast Health and Disease Management at Clara Maass demonstrated compliance with rigorous NAPBC standards that addressed its leadership, clinical services, research, community outreach, professional education, and quality improvement for patients. Breast Centers seeking NAPBC accreditation undergo a site visit every three years. Patients receiving care at the Center for Breast Health and Disease Management at Clara Maass have access to information on clinical trials and new treatment options, genetic counseling, and patient-centered services including psychosocial support, rehabilitation services and survivorship care.”

“This was the first time we sought NAPBC accreditation, and we met all of the rigorous standards of excellence that were required of us,” said Frank Mazzarella, chief continuum of care and clinical services officer.

“This is a testimonial to the great work being done by our breast cancer team at Clara Maass,” Mazzarella said.

CARDIAC CARE

The hospital also recently announced that it has begun offering heart patients intracoronary lithotripsy, a state-of-the-art technology that delivers ultrasound waves at high pressure to break down the calcium in hard calcified blockages, allowing a better expansion of the vessels and safer stent delivery.

Hospital administrators explained more in a news release last month:

“Clara Maass has been providing life-saving cardiac care services to residents of Essex, Hudson, Bergen, and Passaic Counties since May 2009, having performed more than 2,900 elective Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCIs). In May, 2022, Clara Maass proudly marked its 13-year anniversary of performing its first elective or non-emergency angioplasty procedure.

“PCI is a minimally invasive technique used to open blocked arteries that deliver blood to the heart. An interventional cardiologist uses PCI to reach blocked vessels by threading a catheter through an artery in a patient’s wrist (radial artery) or upper leg (femoral artery). Through these catheters, balloons and/or stents are inserted and used to open the blockage.

“Clara Maass was one of the contributors to the clinical trial called the Cardiovascular Patient Outcomes Research Teams Study (CPORT-E), which concluded in 2015, showing that PCI performed at hospitals without on-site cardiac surgery was just as safe as if performed at a hospital with on-site cardiac surgery. From 2015 until now, Clara Maass has continued to provide patients with premier quality elective cardiac procedures in a comfortable setting close to home, allowing their primary care physicians and cardiologists to participate in care decisions and improve outcomes.

“In early 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation which requires the Department of Health to license additional community hospitals to perform elective angioplasty services and ensure that those living in lesser populated areas of the state are still able to take advantage of these services. Prior to this legislation being signed, many community hospitals could not perform elective angioplasties if they were not licensed to perform cardiac surgery and licensed to participate in the CPORT-E Trial.”

In addition to Clara Maass Medical Center, RWJBarnabas Health facilities offering elective and / or emergent PCI include, Community Medical Center in Toms River, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, Jersey City Medical Center, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, RWJUH New Brunswick, RWJUH Hamilton, RWJUH Somerset in Somerville and Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth. To find a cardiac specialist neaby, visit rwjbh.org/heart or call 888-724-7123.

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