Marjorie E. Radin Breast Care Center has earned Center of Excellence designations from two organizations because of its comprehensive treatment and expertise in diagnosing breast cancer.

Radin, which is part of Clovis Community Medical Center, is now one of nine Certified Quality Breast Centers of Excellence in the country meeting standards set by the National Quality Measures for Breast Centers. And the American College of Radiology (ACR) has named Radin as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence in mammography, breast ultrasound and stereotactic or needle biopsy.

John Strubert, medical imaging manager at Clovis Community, said the excellence designations are a testament to teamwork and to the expertise of radiologists and staff. “We had to submit images, along with our radiologist's diagnostic interpretation of the images, for various types of exams we perform. The ACR looked at not only the technical piece but the professional piece too,” said Strubert.

“This is an objective measure that we’re meeting the highest standards,” added Dr. Judy Champaign, radiologist and medical director of medical imaging at Clovis Community. “It's a confirmation that we do everything according to national standards.”

For patients such stamps of “excellence” mean that Radin meets national standards, has well qualified staff and physicians to perform scans and interpret medical images. It also means Radin has the safe equipment and the best technology for each test, and that Clovis Community exceeds clinical quality and safety guidelines.

Radin had an advantage in earning the Quality Breast Centers of Excellence seal because the organization was looking at how patients are handled once a diagnosis is made, said Strubert. “Once a cancer diagnosis is made  we have an immediate patient conference to discuss treatment options. The patient conference includes radiologists, pathologists, surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, a geneticist, social worker and nurse coordinator,” he explained. “Many breast care centers don’t have access to surgeons or oncologists that we have with being part of a hospital system.”

Champaign agreed Radin’s approach is unique to the area. “We envisioned a breast care center that would be focused on the patient in the most compassionate way. Women are afraid and they don't hear much when you tell them they have cancer. Our patient conference is a way to gently reinforce it because of the comprehensive approach with everyone telling patients the same thing. Then we tailor treatment to the individual woman. It works really well and gets patients on the fast track for care.”

This story was reported by Erin Kennedy. She can be reached at ekennedy@communitymedical.org.