Bell Hospital Breast Center accredited
The Bell Hospital Breast Center in Ishpeming has just received full accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.
The American College of Surgeons runs the program.
Bell vice president for organizational development Ruth Solinski says the accreditation involves a rigorous evaluation that finds a breast center meets high standards of care in more than 25 measured areas.
In short, the accreditation means a hospital offers quality breast care close to home.
The areas evaluated include a wide range of services, as well as information about new clinical trials and new treatment options.
Surgery registered nurse Judy Smith says the breast center can tell a woman who comes in for a mammogram if anything is suspicious or not before she goes home.
Smith says if a patient needs a biopsy, it can often be done on the same day as the mammogram.
Accredited breast centers also offer a multi-disciplinary team approach to breast care.
General surgeon Dr. Wendy Frye says the various coordinated areas range from hospital administration to surgery, to radiology, to plastic surgery and more.
Bell Hospital moved in 2008 from downtown Ishpeming to a hillside overlooking US-41.
Solinski says hospital staff have put in a great deal of effort improving their women’s health services since then, and she says it’s exciting for the hospital to be recognized for it.
The Bell Hospital Breast Center is one of two such accredited facilities in the U.P.; the Marquette General Cancer Center is the other.
The breast center accreditation is good for three years.