Silver Cross Center for Women's Health and Breast Center Earns Three-Year NAPBC Accreditation

Silver Cross Hospital’s Center for Women’s Health and Breast Center has achieved three-year accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC,) a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

To achieve voluntary NAPBC accreditation, a breast center must demonstrate compliance with NAPBC standards that look at a center’s leadership, clinical services, research, community outreach, professional education, and quality improvement. Breast centers seeking NAPBC accreditation undergo a site visit every three years.

The Silver Cross Center for Women’s Health and Breast Center brings together specialized services by providing comprehensive healthcare. The Breast Center is located within the Center for Women’s Health for added convenience and smooth continuity of care.

The highly skilled surgeons in the Breast Center have specialized training to evaluate breast pain, benign lumps and cysts, abnormal mammograms and breast cancer. They look at the stage of cancer, its characteristics, and what is the best individual treatment for the patient. All breast cancer cases are reviewed by a team of specialists at Silver Cross Hospital’s weekly Multi-Disciplinary Breast Conference to expedite diagnosis and treatment.

As a NAPBC-accredited center, the Center for Women’s Health and Breast Center 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 a 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.  

“Patients who come to the Center for Women’s Health and Breast Center expect the high quality care we offer every day,” said Dr. Laura Ragauskaite, Medical Director for the Breast Center. “This accreditation further proves our desire to provide patient-centered breast care close to home.”

Receiving care at this NAPBC-accredited center ensures that patients 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

For more information or to schedule an appointment for breast care at Silver Cross, Call the Silver Cross Breast Center at 815-300-6350.

About the NAPBC

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.  For information on the NAPBC please go to www.facs.org.napbc. 

Caption: Front row, from left: Dr. Maria Rapciak, breast/general surgeon; Dr. Laura Ragauskaite, breast/general surgeon and medical director of the Breast Center; Dr. Jennifer Tseng, breast/general surgeon; back row from left: Neda Zelehovitis, RN, OCN, certified breast care nurse; Elizabeth Andretich, UChicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center; Dr. Hiren Patel, radiologist; Dr. Alan Chen, plastic and reconstructive surgeon; Dr. Cagatay Ersahin, pathologist; and Marci Vasiliades, Director of Imaging Services, Neuroscience Lab, Center for Women’s Health and Breast Center.