LONG BRANCH — The Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center at Monmouth Medical Center has been named one of America’s Best Breast Centers by the Women’s Choice Award, America’s trusted referral source for the best in health care. The award signifies that Monmouth Medical Center is in the top 7 percent of 4,789 U.S. hospitals offering breast care services.
Monmouth Medical Center is the only hospital in Monmouth County to have earned the award for four consecutive years, and one of only eight in the state to have earned that same distinction.
According to the American Cancer Society, about one in eight women in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime, and it is the second leading cause of cancer death in women.
“As a breast cancer survivor, I learned the hard way that where you choose to have your mammogram can have a profound impact on your outcome and experience,” said Delia Passi, founder and CEO of the Women’s Choice Award.
Passi was the victim of poor imaging and misdiagnosis. Doctors eventually discovered her breast cancer after a surgical biopsy and two lumpectomies at the age of 42. Her experience was the inspiration behind creating the Women’s Choice Award, following her previous career as publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines.
“We empower women to make educated, confident decisions about their health,” said Passi. “By identifying America’s Best Breast Centers, we’re helping women find the top accredited centers in their communities.”
The methodology used to select Monmouth Medical Center as one of America’s Best Breast Centers is unique in that it evaluates results from hospital satisfaction surveys required by the federal government (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey results), along with primary research about women’s health-care preferences.
The list of 352 award winners, including the Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center, represents breast centers that have met the highest standards of breast care in the nation as set by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) and carry the Breast Imaging Center of Excellence (BICOE) seal from the American College of Radiology.
The Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center recently received an additional marker of quality: it achieved another three-year reaccreditation from the National Accreditation Programs for Breast Centers (NAPBC), with the surveyor commenting on “an overall excellent program with dedicated staff delivering robust patient-centered care.” The Wilentz Center is the only NAPBC-accredited program in Monmouth County and the first to be accredited in Ocean County.
The Wilentz Center was also the first in New Jersey to introduce the Affirm prone biopsy system, the world’s first and only dedicated prone biopsy system to offer both 2-D and 3-D imaging-guided breast biopsies that treat breast cancer in the prone position, or face down. The addition of this innovative technology continues to make Monmouth Medical Center the leader in breast care.
“Once again, the Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center has proved that compassionate, multidisciplinary care from our top physicians, combined with state-of-the-art technology and cancer treatment, distinguishes us in health care,” said Bill Arnold, president and CEO of Monmouth Medical Center. “We are honored and humbled to accept the designation of America’s Best Breast Center.”
For more information about the 2017 America’s Best Breast Centers, please visit womenschoiceaward.com/awarded/healthcare. To learn more about the Jacqueline M. Wilentz Comprehensive Breast Center at Monmouth Medical Center, call 732-923-7700.