FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5/31/12
St. Mary’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders has earned a Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation from the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS).
“The team at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders always strives to provide the best care and quality outcomes for our patients,” said Karen Clark, the Vice President of St. Mary’s Physician Network who oversees the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. “This Accreditation with Commendation is a testament to their success in providing that high level of care.”
Receiving care at a CoC-accredited cancer program ensures that a patient will have access to:
· Comprehensive care, including a range of state-of-the-art services and equipment
· A multispecialty team approach to coordinate the best treatment options
· Information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options
· Access to cancer-related information, education, and support
· A cancer registry that collects data on type and stage of cancers and treatment results and offers lifelong patient follow-up
· Ongoing monitoring and improvement of care
· Quality care, close to home
A facility receives a Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation following the onsite evaluation by a physician surveyor during which the facility demonstrates a Commendation level of compliance with one or more standards that represent the full scope of the cancer program (cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, clinical services, research, community outreach, and quality improvement). In addition, a facility receives a compliance rating for all other standards.
The CoC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival rates and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education and the monitoring of comprehensive, quality care.
The Accreditation Program, a component of the CoC, sets standards for cancer programs and reviews the programs to ensure they conform to those standards. Accreditation by the CoC is given only to those facilities that have voluntarily committed to providing the highest level of quality cancer care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance. To maintain accreditation, facilities with CoC-accredited cancer programs must undergo an on-site review every three years.
Through an exclusive partnership with the American Cancer Society, the CoC provides information on the resources, services, and cancer treatment experience for each CoC-accredited cancer program. This information can be found on the American Cancer Society’s web site at www.cancer.org and through their Information Center at 1-800-ACS-2345.
For more about St. Mary’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, please visit us on the web.
Tags: accreditation, accreditation program, cancer accreditation, cancer program, cancer registry, commendation, Lewiston, Maine, quality outcomes, St. Mary's, st. mary's center for cancer and blood disorders
