(PHILADELPHIA) – The Abramson Cancer Center’s Rena Rowan Breast Center and the Integrated Breast Center at the Joan Karnell Cancer Center recently earned a three-year, full accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC). Conducted by the American College of Surgeons, NAPBC accreditation is granted to centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of quality breast care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance. A breast center that achieves NAPBC accreditation has demonstrated a firm commitment to offer its patients every significant advantage in their battle against breast disease.
The NAPBC surveyors praised the two Penn Medicine programs’ “ambitious, multilayered quality initiatives” in clinical care, research, and education for patients and health professionals alike.
“This accreditation is a testament to the wide range of advanced breast cancer care we provide at Penn Medicine,” said Brian Czerniecki, MD, PhD, co-director of the Abramson Cancer Center’s Rena Rowan Breast Center and an associate professor of oncologic surgery. “From preventive care and early diagnosis to cutting-edge treatment and survivorship care, we are proud of the strength and depth of our programs to help breast cancer patients.”
The Rena Rowan Breast Center, located on the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania campus, and the Integrated Breast Center at Pennsylvania Hospital’s Joan Karnell Cancer Center, achieved compliance with all 27 standards of the NAPBC survey, which includes excellence in radiology, pathology, surgical, medical and radiation oncology, clinical research, reconstruction, nursing care and rehabilitation services. Providing expert patient care during more than 19,000 patient visits per year, the Rena Rowan Breast Center offers diagnosis and treatment for the full spectrum of breast cancers, including rare cases of breast cancer among men, pregnant women, and other complex situations. Dozens of clinical trials underway are paving the way for even more effective treatments.
“Recognition from the NAPBC highlights the high level of care, the integrated, multidisciplinary approach and the range of support programs our centers provide for our breast cancer patients,” said Dahlia Sataloff, MD, director of the Integrated Breast Center and vice-chair of the Department of Surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital.
Other unique aspects of Penn Medicine’s breast centers include one of the nation’s most advanced cancer risk evaluation programs, and research in novel treatments including therapeutic vaccines and drugs to attack the most aggressive, inherited forms of breast cancer. The centers also offer psychosocial and nutrition counseling and access to a robust survivorship care program that addresses post-cancer issues including late effects of chemotherapy drugs and the painful and debilitating arm-swelling condition lymphedema that often follows breast cancer surgery.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.