Doctors Hospital of Manteca is only one of 10 medical facilities in the nation to earn a “Quality Breast Center of Excellence”.
Registered nurse and nurse navigator for breast cancer patients, Debbie Aventi, said there were many large hospitals across the country that sought the coveted status of excellence that Manteca’s Doctors Hospital has achieved.
“There were all kinds of others out there who were trying to get this – and we got it – that’s so cool!” she said, having difficulty in containing her excitement.
Aventi has been seen as a perfect fit in the breast center and recognized as a strong advocate for her patients will soon return to her former Sonora hospital employer early in February to serve in a different capacity.
She said it “hasn’t been an easy decision” but one that was necessary within her family. Aventi said she had to weigh it all out in what she described as a “hard, hard, hard choice” in leaving her position as Women’s Imaging Center coordinator where she says many little doors have opened for her.
Based on 2009 data, Aventi noted that there were only two other hospitals in California at the same level – one in Concord and the other in Clovis - being recognized for their excellent level of care.
Doctors Hospital had to establish its proficiencies in 21 of 23 stated categories to be nominated for the excellence citation from the National Quality Measures for Breast Centers.
The bar was set high for the medical facilities across the country to show their timeliness in care and in their procedures with competition raising the level of care even higher. Time between screening mammograms and diagnostic mammograms led the list of proficiencies as did mammography call-back rates.
The surgical timeliness of care reflected in the time between needle biopsies and initial breast cancer care were also among the long list of considerations for the certification.
It was just last year that DHM received the “Certified Quality Breast Center” status, now stepping up to the level of “excellence.”
The hospital is currently in the process of accepting applications to fill Aventi’s shoes in the navigation of women entering the doors of the breast center. The veteran nurse said she is putting together an orientation binder for her successor in an effort to make her entry into the department as smooth and as easy as possible.
There was only minimal imaging offered when she started.
“As far as a nurse navigator, there wasn’t anything here almost three and a half years ago,” she said. “So we started from scratch and hopefully it will be easier for somebody coming in. All the processes are in place,” Aventi added.
She is sole member of her department with others serving in Breast Imaging who assist with the complete breast imaging program. There are a total of nine working in the imaging suites with one in MRI certified professional and another in nuclear medicine who help with centinal node injections for surgery patients.
“There is quite the continuum of patients who join together in taking care of patients,” she said. Many of the hospital’s former breast health patients become emotional when they tell of how important it was in their care to have nurse Debbie Aventi there physically holding their hands to comfort them and to simplify the understanding of the procedures with her explanations.
“It’s not just me,” Aventi said. “I just put it all together. Its surgeons, radiologists, staff in the doctors’ offices who help facilitate getting my patients in quickly for a biopsy, having to check authorization for insurance. Everybody in this medical community in one way or another isn represented in this award – it’s not just me doing it,” she reiterated.
“People say congratulations to me, but rather it’s everybody doing it,” she said. “That’s what makes this one special.”
Registered nurse and nurse navigator for breast cancer patients, Debbie Aventi, said there were many large hospitals across the country that sought the coveted status of excellence that Manteca’s Doctors Hospital has achieved.
“There were all kinds of others out there who were trying to get this – and we got it – that’s so cool!” she said, having difficulty in containing her excitement.
Aventi has been seen as a perfect fit in the breast center and recognized as a strong advocate for her patients will soon return to her former Sonora hospital employer early in February to serve in a different capacity.
She said it “hasn’t been an easy decision” but one that was necessary within her family. Aventi said she had to weigh it all out in what she described as a “hard, hard, hard choice” in leaving her position as Women’s Imaging Center coordinator where she says many little doors have opened for her.
Based on 2009 data, Aventi noted that there were only two other hospitals in California at the same level – one in Concord and the other in Clovis - being recognized for their excellent level of care.
Doctors Hospital had to establish its proficiencies in 21 of 23 stated categories to be nominated for the excellence citation from the National Quality Measures for Breast Centers.
The bar was set high for the medical facilities across the country to show their timeliness in care and in their procedures with competition raising the level of care even higher. Time between screening mammograms and diagnostic mammograms led the list of proficiencies as did mammography call-back rates.
The surgical timeliness of care reflected in the time between needle biopsies and initial breast cancer care were also among the long list of considerations for the certification.
It was just last year that DHM received the “Certified Quality Breast Center” status, now stepping up to the level of “excellence.”
The hospital is currently in the process of accepting applications to fill Aventi’s shoes in the navigation of women entering the doors of the breast center. The veteran nurse said she is putting together an orientation binder for her successor in an effort to make her entry into the department as smooth and as easy as possible.
There was only minimal imaging offered when she started.
“As far as a nurse navigator, there wasn’t anything here almost three and a half years ago,” she said. “So we started from scratch and hopefully it will be easier for somebody coming in. All the processes are in place,” Aventi added.
She is sole member of her department with others serving in Breast Imaging who assist with the complete breast imaging program. There are a total of nine working in the imaging suites with one in MRI certified professional and another in nuclear medicine who help with centinal node injections for surgery patients.
“There is quite the continuum of patients who join together in taking care of patients,” she said. Many of the hospital’s former breast health patients become emotional when they tell of how important it was in their care to have nurse Debbie Aventi there physically holding their hands to comfort them and to simplify the understanding of the procedures with her explanations.
“It’s not just me,” Aventi said. “I just put it all together. Its surgeons, radiologists, staff in the doctors’ offices who help facilitate getting my patients in quickly for a biopsy, having to check authorization for insurance. Everybody in this medical community in one way or another isn represented in this award – it’s not just me doing it,” she reiterated.
“People say congratulations to me, but rather it’s everybody doing it,” she said. “That’s what makes this one special.”
