The Athens Regional Breast Health Center has once again received high praise from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, or NAPBC.

After recent review, the Athens Regional Breast Health Center received a three year, full accreditation from the NAPBC. The NAPBC grants this honor to breast centers that show excellence in programming and patient care. During the survey process, the Athens Regional Breast Health Center demonstrated compliance with standards established by the NAPBC for treating women who are diagnosed with the full spectrum of breast disease.

The Breast Health Center at Athens Regional also received recognition from the American College of Radiology as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence. With this award, the American College of Radiology recognizes the Athens Regional center for earning accreditation in mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy and breast ultrasound.

The center at Athens Regional is the only breast center in northeast Georgia to hold these two honors.

“This is an opportunity for our center to show the community and physicians that we offer the best care to our patients,” Connie Phelps, RN, BSN, program manager at the Breast Health Center, said. “We have been providing this level of care for a number of years, and it’s nice to show our hard work to the community.”

During the NAPBC’s review of the center, the Athens Regional Breast Health Center received specific praise for its community education programs.

The Breast Health Center at Athens Regional has earned multiple grants from organizations including Georgia Core and The Atlanta 2 Day Walk to provide mammograms to underserved women in the community.

“It’s important we’re reaching out to everyone in our community,” Phelps said. “We want to make sure we’re not just providing care for the women that come to us, but that we also reach out to the ones that don’t usually receive screenings.”

With the accreditation award, the NAPBC also recognized Athens Regional’s center for its breast cancer conferences. These bi-weekly conferences include a multi-disciplinary panel of physicians and support staff that discuss recently-diagnosed patients and their treatment options. 

“Our multidisciplinary conference, which has been in place since 2002, ensures our patients are receiving care that is based on national standards and delivered in a timely manner,” Phelps said.

The NAPBC highlighted the support services the center offers through the Loran Smith Center for Cancer Support. These services include support groups, individual and family counseling, seminars and an educational resource library. All services are available before, during and after treatment and are offered free of charge.

“This recognition is a tribute to the staff of the Breast health Center,” Phelps said. “Our dedicated breast radiologists, certified mammography and breast ultrasound technologists, certified nurse navigators, and devoted support staff work diligently to ensure every patient has a positive experience at the Center and throughout their journey.”

“The accreditation is made possible by the participation of multiple physicians in our community, both in the care they provide to their patients and the time they devote to the development of our entire program,” Phelps continued.