The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) has granted full accreditation to the Regional Cancer Center at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck. To earn CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet 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. As a CoC-accredited cancer center, Holy Name Medical Center’s Regional Cancer Center takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases that requires consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists and other cancer specialists. This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care. There are currently 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, representing only 30 percent of all hospitals. CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients.
The Regional Cancer Center at Holy Name Medical Center is also accredited by the American College of Radiology and the American Society for Radiation Oncology. These prestigious recognitions are awarded only to hospitals representing the highest standards in patient care and safety and superior technical standards.
“Holy Name’s Regional Cancer Center is proud to be among the top cancer centers in the U.S., providing high-quality care,” said Michael Maron, president and CEO of Holy Name Medical Center. “Patients not only get the best possible treatment, but they do so close to home and with easy access to a specialized staff that truly cares about the individual.”
Holy Name’s Regional Cancer Center has demonstrated quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs that focus on the full spectrum of cancer care including prevention, early diagnosis, disease staging, treatment, rehabilitation, lifelong follow-up for recurrent disease, and palliative care. When patients receive care at a CoC facility, like Holy Name’s Regional Cancer Center, they also 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 and seeks to improve cancer survivors’ quality of life.
“At Holy Name, we form teams of board-certified cancer specialists that work in unison to address the individual needs of each patient,” said Raul Parra, MD, medical director of the Regional Cancer Center at Holy Name Medical Center. “That may include a surgeon, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, nurse, nutritionist, physical therapist, social worker and others to not only treat the cancer but to support the patient as a whole.”
CoC-accredited facilities must maintain a cancer registry and contribute data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society (ACS). 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.
The Regional Cancer Center at Holy Name Medical Center offers leading-edge diagnosis, staging and treatment services that match urban-based medical centers while allowing patients to undergo treatment close to home. An outstanding team of board-certified specialists, including surgeons, oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, nurse-practitioners, therapists and social workers care for patients in an environment that promotes personalized service and ready access to multiple disciplines. As patients of a CoC-accredited cancer center, Holy Name’s patients gain access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art cancer care close to home. To learn more, visit HolyName.org/RegionalCancerCenter.
