Center for Cancer
Care at Griffin Hospital Accredited by the Commission on Cancer of the American
College of Surgeons
Derby, CT - The Commission on
Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) has granted Three-Year
Accreditation with Commendation to the cancer program at Griffin Hospital.
The Center for
Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital received the Three-Year Accreditation with
Commendation following an on-site evaluation by a physician surveyor, during
which the Center demonstrated a Commendation level of compliance with one or
more standards that represent the full scope of its cancer program (cancer
committee leadership, cancer data management, clinical services, research,
community outreach, and quality improvement).
“We are very pleased
to receive this CoC Accreditation with Commendation, which recognizes the
comprehensive model of care we have put in place at the Center for Cancer Care
at Griffin Hospital,” said Marge Deegan, Vice President for Ambulatory
Services. “The Center recently
celebrated its first year of service to the community, and this CoC
accreditation is a fitting tribute to the hard work of everyone involved in
building our cancer program,” she said. “Together, we are able to offer our patients a comprehensive, personalized
cancer program in a comforting, healing environment that is inspired by
Planetree, the leader in the patient-centered care movement.”
Established in
1922 by the American College of Surgeons, 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. Its membership includes Fellows of the
American College of Surgeons and 42 national organizations that reflect the
full spectrum of cancer care. The core
functions of the CoC include setting standards for quality, multidisciplinary
cancer patient care; surveying facilities to evaluate compliance with the 36
CoC standards; collecting standardized and quality data from accredited
facilities; and using the data to develop effective educational interventions
to improve cancer care outcomes at the national, state, and local level.
The Accreditation
Program, a component of the CoC, sets quality-of-care 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.
About the Center
for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital
Opened in
October, 2008, Griffin Hospital’s Center for Cancer Care provides care that’s
comprehensive, comforting, and close to home.
The Center provides access to Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology,
Surgical Oncology, and a range of affiliated physicians under the same roof in
a Planetree-inspired healing environment.
Support services include a Patient Care Navigator, dietary/nutritional
consultations, social work services, pastoral care, education and support
groups, and a variety of non-traditional therapies offered through the
Integrative Medicine Center.
About the
Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons
There are
currently more than 1,400 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the US and Puerto
Rico, representing close to 25 percent of all hospitals. These accredited hospitals diagnosed and/or
treated 80 percent of the estimated 1.4 million newly diagnosed cancer patients
last year. In addition, a national
network of more than 1,600 volunteer Cancer Liaison Physicians provides
leadership and support for the CoC Accreditation Program and other CoC
activities at these local facilities.
Receiving care at
a CoC-accredited cancer programs 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, and most importantly;
- Quality care
close to home.
Cancer patient
data are reported by each CoC-accredited cancer program to the CoC’s National
Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint CoC/American Cancer Society program. The NCDB currently contains patient
demographics, tumor characteristics, and treatment and outcomes information for
more than 18 million cancer patients diagnosed and treated at hospital cancer
programs in the US between 1985 and 2004.
These data account for approximately two-thirds of newly diagnosed
cancer cases in the US each year.
NCDB data is
regularly used to monitor and improve the quality of patient care delivered in
CoC-accredited cancer programs. The CoC
requires programs to implement quality improvement initiatives that promote the
delivery of quality, multidisciplinary cancer care and lead to ongoing
educational interventions with local providers in the CoC-accredited cancer
programs.
Through an
exclusive partnership with the American Cancer Society, the CoC provides the
public with information on the resources, services, and cancer treatment
experience for each CoC-accredited cancer program. This information is shared with the public on
the American Cancer Society’s website at www.cancer.org and through its
National Cancer Information Center at 1-800-ACS-2345.
For more
information about the Commission on Cancer, visit
www.facs.org/cancer/index.html.
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