Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center’s breast health program reaccredited

Essentia Health-St. Joseph's Medical Center is proud to announce that our breast health program has been reaccredited under the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC). This is granted to programs that are committed to providing the best possible care to patients with breast diseases.

"Receiving reaccreditation from the NAPBC is a testament to our team's unwavering commitment to providing exceptional care to patients with breast diseases," said Dr. Troy Duininck, division chair for surgery and medical director of the breast program in the Brainerd Lakes area. "This reaffirms our dedication to meeting the highest standards of quality and safety in breast health. It also serves as a recognition of our multidisciplinary approach, advanced technologies and comprehensive services that are designed to deliver the best possible outcomes for our patients."

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States after skin cancers. Programs accredited by the NAPBC follow a model for organizing and managing a breast center to facilitate multidisciplinary, integrated and comprehensive breast cancer services. The NAPBC focuses on the full spectrum of a patient's journey with breast cancer or breast disease, including prevention, screening, treatment and survivorship. By setting high standards, NAPBC accreditation guides breast centers in providing comprehensive breast care based on scientific evidence.

As an NAPBC-accredited system, Essentia also becomes an ACS Surgical Quality Partner. Being a Surgical Quality Partner signifies a system’s dedication to consistently improving procedures and approaches while maintaining a critical eye on processes at every step. The Surgical Quality Partner designation lets patients know Essentia is dedicated to quality and relentless self-improvement. Patients can trust that the care they receive at Surgical Quality Partner hospitals adheres to the most rigorous standards in surgical quality.

According to the American College of Surgeons, it "is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients." The college is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery.