Sarah Cannon Cancer Center At Parkridge Earns Commission On Cancer Accreditation

  • Friday, April 11, 2014

The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has granted Three-Year Accreditation with Six Commendations to the cancer program at Parkridge Medical Center.  To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet or exceed 34 CoC quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process, and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care.  Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation is only awarded to a facility that exceeds standard requirements at the time of its triennial survey. 

“Our cancer treatment team takes pride in providing the best possible care for each patient,” notes Darrell Moore, president and CEO of Parkridge Health System. “This approval with commendation reinforces our commitment to providing the community with individualized, compassionate services and advanced technology for the treatment of cancer.” 

As a CoC-accredited cancer center, Parkridge Medical Center treats cancer as a complex group of diseases that requires multidisciplinary partnership. The consultation among Parkridge Medical Center surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists results in improved patient care, said officials. 

The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for Parkridge Medical Center to focus on the full spectrum of cancer care including prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease, and end-of-life care. Patients at Parkridge Medical Center have access to information on clinical trials and new treatments, genetic counseling, and patient-centered services including psycho-social support, a patient navigation process, and a survivorship care plan that documents the care each patient receives in an effort to improve cancer survivors’ quality of life. 

Like all CoC-accredited facilities, Parkridge Medical Center maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base, a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society.  This nationwide oncology outcomes database is the largest clinical disease registry in the world.  Data on all types of cancer are tracked and analyzed through the NCDB and used to explore trends in cancer care.  CoC-accredited cancer centers, in turn, have access to information derived from this type of data analysis, which is used to create national, regional, and state benchmark reports.  These reports help CoC facilities with their quality improvement efforts.

ACS estimates that more than 1.6 million cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2013.  There are currently more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, representing 30 percent of all hospitals.  CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients.  Cancer patients who choose to seek care locally at a CoC-accredited cancer center are gaining access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art cancer care close to home, said officials. The CoC provides the public with information on the resources, services, and cancer treatment experience for each CoC-accredited cancer program through the CoC Hospital Locator at http://www.facs.org/cancerprogram/index.html

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