Dyer Campus Designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence

Dr. Alpa Chandarana, right, with Jeanne
Deaver-Higgins, breast health nurse navigator.

Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Dyer has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology, which demonstrates its commitment to women in the community, says Dr. Alpa Chandarana, medical director of breast imaging.

"This assures our patients that we are providing essential breast imaging services that meet the highest standards of the radiology profession," said Chandarana, who has been in her position two years.

The hospital began the stringent accreditation process in the spring and received word earlier this month that it had been approved, she added.

The designation is awarded only to centers that have achieved ACR accreditation in mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, and breast ultrasound, (including ultrasound-guided breast biopsy.

Peer-review evaluations, conducted in each breast modality by board-certified physicians and medical physicists, determine facilities that have achieved high practice standards in image quality, personnel qualifications, facility equipment, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs, according to the ACR.

Chandarana, M.D., a board-certified radiologist with fellowship training in breast imaging, oversees a 10-member staff. She also credits the efforts of Jeanne Deaver-Higgins, the center's breast health nurse navigator.

"Jeanne is a concerned and compassionate advocate for our patients, having been through so much herself as a breast cancer survivor," Chandarana said.

Deaver-Higgins also is proud of the accreditation.

"This demonstrates the quality of our care, by meeting standards set by the ACR," she said. "For patients, this means the security of knowing they are receiving the best possible care."


About the American College of Radiology
The ACR is a national professional organization that serves more than 34,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists with programs that focus on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services. – Source: American College of Radiology