CDH Cancer Program Accredited by American College of Surgeons
NORTHAMPTON — The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) has granted three-year accreditation to the cancer program at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
To earn voluntary 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.
Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer center, Cooley Dickinson Hospital takes a multi-disciplinary 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 multi-disciplinary partnership results in improved patient care. There are more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, representing 30{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of all hospitals. CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of all newly diagnosed cancer patients.
In 2015, the cancer program will become the Mass General Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for CDH to improve its quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs that focus on the full spectrum of cancer care, including prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, lifelong 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 and seeks to improve cancer survivors’ quality of life.
