Staff Reports
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Saint Francis Medical Center's Cancer Institute has received a three-year accreditation from the Commission on Cancer (CoC), a program of the American College of Surgeons. The CoC evaluates cancer care programs on their commitment to provide comprehensive, high-quality and multidisciplinary patient-centered care.
The commission evaluated Saint Francis' Cancer Institute on 34 standards based on program management, clinical services, continuum of care services, patient outcomes and data quality.
The survey process is conducted on a triennial basis through documentation review followed by a site visit. During the site visit, a CoC surveyor meets with facility administrative leadership and attends a cancer conference to observe the program's patient management and discussions. The surveyor also meets with the cancer liaison physicians and cancer registry staff.
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.
Receiving care at a CoC-accredited cancer program ensures that a patient will have access to:
* Quality cancer care;
* Comprehensive care offering a range of state-of-the-art services and equipment;
* A multidisciplinary, team approach to coordinate the best cancer treatment options available;
* Access to cancer-related information and education;
* Access to patient-centered services such as psychosocial distress screening and navigation;
* Options for genetic assessment and counseling, and palliative care services;
* Assessment of treatment planning based on evidence-based national treatment guidelines;
* Information about clinical trials and new treatment options;
* Follow-up care at the completion of treatment, including a survivorship care plan;
* A cancer registry that collects data on type and stage of cancers, treatment results and offers lifelong patient follow-up.
"The CoC accreditation program represents the gold standard for cancer centers across the country," said Lisa Newcomer, MBA, RRT, service line director of cancer services for Saint Francis. "We are proud of our level of achievement and the patient care we provide."