HMH Earns National Re-accreditation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer
The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a stringent quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has granted a three-year re-accreditation to the cancer program at Harrison Memorial Hospital (HMH). First accredited in 2018, HMH underwent a recent site visit and achieved successful results. To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet thirty-four 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.
Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer center, HMH takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases. This requires consultation among surgeons, medical oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists. Our multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care.
“By achieving this re-accreditation, we demonstrate to our community the importance of a daily commitment to quality cancer care. Our goal is to provide excellence within a program that can diagnose, treat, rehabilitate, and support through a lifetime of a patient’s need,” said Dr. Stephen Toadvine, HMH Chief Executive Officer. “The HMH Board of Directors, Medical Staff and employees acknowledge that the CoC program provides HMH with a standard to provide timely, appropriate care that is evidence-based.”
The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for HMH to improve its quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs that focus on the full spectrum of cancer care. This includes prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease, and end-of-life care. When patients receive care at a CoC facility, they also have access to information on clinical trials and new treatments, genetic counseling, and patient-centered services, including psychosocial support, a patient navigation process, and a survivorship care plan that documents the care each patient receives -- all in an effort to improve the cancer survivors’ quality of life.
Like all CoC-accredited facilities, HMH maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the CoC and the 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.
HMH has a CoC Committee comprised of individuals from different specialties and departments to be physician champions and coordinators of the program. Those members include: Dr. Christy Sapp, Chairman of CoC and Physician Liaison; Dr. Fred Picklesimer, Pathologist; Dr. Charles Kenney, Diagnostic Radiologist; Dr. Charles Allran, Surgeon; Summer Dryden, Cancer Program Administrator; Whitney Hill, Oncology Nurse and Clinical Research Coordinator; Haley West, Social Worker and Psychosocial Services Coordinator; Sarah Crockett, Registered Dietitian; Rachel Harney, Pharmacist; Susan Isaac, Rehabilitation Services; Danielle Colemire, Cancer Conference Coordinator; Rose Clifford, Quality Improvement Coordinator; and Mollie Smith, Community Outreach Coordinator.
HMH offers a weekly oncology clinic located in the HMH Specialty Clinic. Christy Sapp is the medical oncologist. The HMH Infusion Therapy Department has nurses who are specially trained in chemotherapy administration and are certified by the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS).
There are currently more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed patients with cancer. When cancer patients choose to seek care locally at a CoC-accredited cancer center, they are gaining access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art cancer care close to home. 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 https://www.facs.org/search/cancer-programs.
Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the CoC 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. For more information, visit: www.facs.org/cancer.
