East Stroudsburg, PA – The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) has granted its Outstanding Achievement Award to Pocono Health System’s Dale and Frances Hughes Cancer Center as a result of surveys performed during 2011. The Hughes Cancer Center is one of a select group of 106 currently accredited and newly accredited cancer program across the United States. The full list of award recipients is available online at http://www.facs.org/cancer/coc/outstandingachievement2011list.html.
Kathleen E. Kuck, President and CEO of Pocono Health System/Pocono Medical Center commented, “Our oncology team of physicians and staff have always been committed to providing world class cancer care. This award validates our mission since we have been recognized as being one of four cancer programs to be honored throughout the entire Commonwealth.”
Established in 2004, the CoC Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA) is designed to recognize cancer programs that strive for excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients. The award is granted to facilities that demonstrate a Commendation level of compliance with seven standards that represent six areas of cancer program activity: cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, clinical management, research, community outreach, and quality improvement.
The level of compliance with the seven standards is determined during an on-site evaluation by a physician surveyor. In addition, facilities must receive a compliance rating for the remaining 29 cancer program standards. 106 programs, including the Hughes Cancer Center, represent approximately 22 percent of programs surveyed during 2011. A majority of recipients are community-based facilities; however, teaching hospitals, NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, VA hospitals, and Network Cancer Programs also received the award.
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. There are currently more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the US 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 each year.
Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the Commission on Cancer is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving patient outcomes 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 representatives of 49 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of cancer care.
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 and through the American Cancer Society’s National Cancer Information Center at 1-800-ACS-2345. For more information about CoC, visit their web site at www.facs.org/cancer/index.html.
