UAMS Breast Cancer Program Earns National Reaccreditation

The Breast Cancer program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute has earned reaccreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC).

Ronda S. Henry-Tillman, M.D., chief of Breast Oncology at UAMS, has been appointed vice chair of NAPBC, along with Sindhu J. Malapati, M.D., hematologist/oncologist at UAMS. Henry-Tillman also holds the Muriel Balsam Kohn Chair in Breast Surgical Oncology at UAMS.

The UAMS Breast Cancer program first received accreditation from NAPBC in 2011.

The NAPBC, a program of the American College of Surgeons, represents a consortium of national professional organizations dedicated to improving of the quality of care and monitoring of outcomes for patients with diseases of the breast.

“Being recognized again by NAPBC further distinguishes the UAMS Breast Cancer program and our Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute as the leading cancer treatment center in Arkansas,” said Henry-Tillman, who serves as a professor in the Department of Surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine. “We were the first program in the state to be admitted to this elite group. We are honored to have the opportunity to help lead it now.”

The NAPBC accreditation is granted only to programs that are voluntarily committed to providing the best in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment and able to comply with established NAPBC standards.

The UAMS Breast Center, a part of the UAMS Breast Cancer program, is also designated as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology, a designation it has held since 2013.

“This designation shows our excellence in every aspect of breast imaging, as it requires not only the mandatory accreditation for mammography, but also voluntary accreditations for breast ultrasound, stereotactic core biopsy and breast MRI,” said Gwendolyn Bryant-Smith, M.D., associate professor of Radiology in the UAMS College of Medicine and director of the Breast Center at the Cancer Institute.

UAMS is the state's only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS' clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,047 students, 873 medical residents and fellows, and six dental residents. It is the state's largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children's, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.