By Courtney Schmoll—
MUNCIE, Ind.— The National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a quality program administered by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has granted accredited status to the IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Cancer Center in Muncie, Indiana. To achieve voluntary NAPBC accreditation, a breast center demonstrates compliance with the NAPBC standards that address a center’s leadership, clinical services, research, community outreach, professional education, and quality improvement for patients. Breast centers seeking NAPBC accreditation undergo a site visit every three years.
As a NAPBC-accredited center, the IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Cancer 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 can be confident that their breast care team includes health care professionals from a variety of disciplines who are committed to working together to provide the best care available through their entire course of treatment. Patients receiving care at a NAPBC-accredited center also have access to information on clinical trials and new treatment options, genetic counseling, and patient-centered services including psychosocial support, rehabilitation services, and survivorship care.
L-R: Rosie Thrasher, Ali Buckland, and Tonya Wilson are nurse navigators who work with breast cancer patients. Rosie and Ali are breast health imaging navigators; Tonya is a breast cancer clinical nurse navigator. Photo provided.
Maitri Kalra, MD
“Our multidisciplinary team of navigators, physicians, nurses, medical assistants and support services are honored to receive NAPBC accreditation for the first time in our Cancer Center’s history,” said Maitri Kalra, MD, breast cancer program director, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Cancer Center. “This is a direct reflection of an unwavering commitment to quality care, and breast cancer patients can rest assured knowing that our highly skilled team is here for them every step of their journey.”
Accreditation by the NAPBC is granted only to those programs that are committed to providing the best possible care to patients with breast cancer. The NAPBC provides the structure and resources develop and operate a high-quality breast center and accredited program. Patients receiving care at this NAPBC-accredited center 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
About Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital
IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital serves as a tertiary referral center and teaching hospital for East Central Indiana and part of Indiana University Health. IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission and maintains 1.2 million square feet of facilities. It is part of an elite group of hospitals with Magnet designation for nursing excellence. More than 17,700 patients are admitted every year and more than 300,000 outpatient procedures are completed annually. Jeff Bird, MD, is President. Learn more at iuhealth.org/ball-memorial.
About the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers
The National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers represents a consortium of national, professional organizations dedicated to the quality of care of patients with diseases of the breast. Its board membership includes professionals from more than 20 national organizations that represent the full spectrum of breast care. For more information, visit https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/napbc.
