BELFAST — Waldo County General Hospital Coastal Maine Center for Breast Health has recently been recognized as a Certified Quality Breast Center of Excellence. This recognition is the highest level of certification by the National Quality Measures for Breast Cancer (NQMBC). The distinguished honor represents a commitment by the center to provide the highest level of quality breast health care to patients in the Midcoast community. This level of certification in the NQMBC program is valid for one year.

Measuring and comparing quality performance is essential in assessing patient care and allocating resources where improvement is desired. In today’s dynamic health care industry, breast centers are faced with providing quality care while simultaneously keeping costs under control. By receiving this recognition, Waldo County General Hospital Coastal Maine Center for Breast Health was acknowledged for actively ensuring the best possible quality care to patients in the community.

The National Quality Measures for Breast Centers were developed by referencing the Health Care Advisory Board’s Clinical quality dash board for breast centers published in the fall of 2004. The National Quality Measures for Breast Centers reflect more than five years of work, which has culminated in the adoption of more than 33 national quality indicators.