The Breast Center at ImageCare Designated ACR Breast Imaging Center of Excellence

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ACR Breast Imaging Center of Excellence Seal

LATHAM, NY (10/12/2010)(readMedia)-- The Breast Center at ImageCare, a division of Community Care Physicians, PC in Latham, NY, has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR), making it the first outpatient non-hospital imaging center in the Capital Region to achieve this designation. To achieve this status, The Breast Center at ImageCare met very specific requirements established by the ACR and earned ACR accreditation in the following breast imaging modalities: mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, breast ultrasound, and ultrasound guided breast biopsy.

"We are proud to be among an elite group of breast imaging centers across the country that has achieved the Center of Excellence designation," said Dr. Ruth Beer, Director of The Breast Center at ImageCare and practicing radiologist. "As a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, patients can feel confident they are being cared for by a top level program with radiologists who specialize in breast imaging with specific modalities."

The accreditation process consisted of evaluations in each breast imaging technology by a team of board certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Their findings certify that The Breast Center at ImageCare has achieved high practice standards in image quality, personnel qualifications, facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs.

As an official Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, The Breast Center at ImageCare can offer patients a full spectrum of breast cancer screening and diagnosis services. The importance of these diagnostic tools, including mammography and ultrasound, is seen in the thousands of women saved from the potentially devastating effects of breast cancer.

"The Breast Center at ImageCare has invested in the latest breast imaging technology. The designation of Center of Excellence not only reaffirms this fact, but is also is a direct reflection of our team of professionals," said Dr. Beer. "We have highly skilled and compassionate staff, technologists, and radiologists that help us remain leaders in our field, while making the patient experience as comfortable as possible. Patients often come to our office nervous or scared as they are being screened for a potentially serious disease. This designation proves they are in good hands and should help put patients' minds at ease."

"Being named a Center of Excellence should not only make our patients feel confident in the care they are receiving, but also referring physicians," said Kim Fusco, practice manager for The Breast Center at ImageCare. "The quality of imaging and the expert abilities of the radiologists are important in ensuring physicians get the clearest and most accurate information possible to help detect breast cancer, so treatment can begin as soon as possible. This increases the chances of long-term survival for their patients."

By awarding the status of Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, the ACR recognized the Breast Center at ImageCare for earning accreditation in all of the college's voluntary, breast-imaging accreditation programs and modules, in addition to the mandatory Mammography Accreditation Program.

The Breast Center at ImageCare has been ACR accredited in mammography since 1994 and in ultrasound since February 2010. The Breast Center at ImageCare is also accredited in MRI and performs MRI-guided breast biopsies. The designation of an ACR Breast Imaging Center of Excellence is renewed on a 3-year basis. The ACR, headquartered in Reston, Va., is a national organization serving more than 32,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs for focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology, as well as the delivery of comprehensive health care services.

About Community Care Physicians, P.C.

Community Care Physicians, P.C. is a multi-specialty medical group with over 35 practices. Spanning across Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties of the Capital Region, Community Care Physicians offers 20 different specialty services, including Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatric Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, ImageCare Medical Imaging, Image Guided Radiation Therapy, Interventional Radiology, General Surgery, Urology, Physical Therapy, Urgent Care, Walk-In Care, Laboratory, Audiology, Dermatology, Diabetes Education and Nutrition, Occupational Medicine, Business Care, Wellness, and Aesthetic Laser. For more information visit www.communitycare.com.

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Contact Alexis Musto, Marketing Manager at Community Care Physicians, PC, for more information by phone at 518-213-0322, by email at amusto@communitycare.com, or by fax at 518-782-3798.