Vallejo Times-Herald – February 14, 2017
The Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center Breast Care Center has received a new three-year accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, a program administered by the American College of Surgeons, Kaiser officials announced.
Three years ago, the Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center Breast Care Center became the first such center in Solano County to receive the designation. Six other Kaiser Permanente sites in Northern California — Oakland, Central Valley, Martinez, San Rafael, Santa Clara and Santa Rosa — also have it.
Accreditation by the agency is 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 performance review.
“To be recognized for our comprehensive care and multi-disciplinary approach tells us that we are on the right path,” said breast cancer surgeon Gillian Kuehner, MD director of the Breast Care Center.
That multi-disciplinary approach to breast cancer treatment is a hallmark of Kaiser Vallejo’s Breast Care Center, officials said. A Breast Care Conference is held every Tuesday at the hospital with representatives from surgery, radiology, pathology, oncology, nursing and radiation oncology all in attendance, they said.
“All newly diagnosed breast cancer patients are reviewed during these conferences,” Kuehner said. “The patient’s clinical presentation is discussed, appropriate imaging and pathology reviewed, and pertinent medical and family history are assessed. 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. We personalize the care for each patient.”
Clinical trials are also a valuable tool available to center patients, officials said. The Kaiser Permanente Northern California Oncology Clinical Trials program is based at the Vallejo Medical Center and is one of the nation’s leading clinical trial groups, they said.
“Our robust National Cancer Institute sponsored oncology clinical trials research program allows members to participate in new cancer treatments even before they are FDA approved,” said Lou Fehrenbacher, MD hematologist/oncologist and director of the Oncology Clinical Trials program. “Having that level of access to new treatments helps us provide the best care to all of our patients and places our doctors at the front of medical advances.”
For more information on the Breast Care Center, visit: kp.org/napasolano/breastcarecenter.
This article originally appeared in the Vallejo Times Herald.
