Mammograms Didn’t Meet Standards – NBC 6 South Florida

A medical center in northwest Miami-Dade has been ordered to stop performing mammograms after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found it did not meet federal standards.

Affected patients received letters from North Shore Medical Center earlier this year informing them of the problem and offering to cover the cost of re-evaluation.

In a statement to NBC6, the medical center confirmed that the mammograms that did not meet federal requirements occurred over a two-year period.

“In cooperation with the FDA, North Shore Medical Center contacted patients (and their physicians) who had mammograms performed during the period of March 14, 2022 through March 14, 2024. During this time period, it was determined that the administration/evaluation of these mammograms was not consistent with the industry standard and may have been subject to inaccurate interpretation,” the statement read.

Pembroke Pines resident Liz Guseila-Rizo, a patient and former employee of the medical center, was one of the women who received the disturbing notice.

“I was really shocked,” Guseila-Rizo said. “I had a history of breast cancer in my family and I had been tested and I had the gene for it.”

She felt particularly upset because losing her job also affected her personal health care.

“What do I do now? I don’t have a doctor. I’m in Broward now, I have to start all over again,” she added. “My insurance changed, my doctor is not listed anymore.”

She revealed that she was laid off from her job — along with other employees — after the center’s owner, Steward Health Care System, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Guselia-Rizo then received a notice that mammograms performed between March 14, 2022, and February 29, 2024, did not meet FDA requirements.

The letter said the FDA had instructed the hospital to stop performing mammograms on March 14, 2024. While the mammogram results may not be incorrect, they may need to be repeated, the letter said.

“I started calling the numbers listed. I would hear recordings, but no one would call me back. So I went to North Shore to start taking care of it,” Guselia-Rizo said.

She later discovered that one of the phone numbers on the letter was linked to an employee who had also been fired from the medical center.

Guselia-Rizo is now focused on finding a specialist to work with, but she has lingering concerns, especially for women who don’t speak English and might not understand the contents of the letter. She’s also worried about those who don’t have access to medical care, as the hospital’s women’s diagnostic center has since been closed.