Mercy’s Lung Cancer Program, Lung Cancer Screening Program Named Centers of Excellence

SPRINGFIELD — Mercy Medical Center is the first hospital in Massachusetts to receive the community-hospital Center of Excellence (COE) designation from the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) for the hospital’s Lung Cancer Program. This designation ensures lung-cancer patients that the quality of care at Mercy is on par with leading academic and research institutions and its physicians have access to the latest innovations across the lung-cancer care continuum not typically found in community hospitals.

To aid in these efforts, Mercy has acquired the superDimension Navigation System with fluoroscopic navigation technology. This equipment allows physicians to perform electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy procedures — a minimally invasive approach that accesses difficult-to-reach areas of the lung, aiding in the diagnosis of lung disease and leading to earlier, personalized treatment.

At the same time, Mercy’s Lung Cancer Screening Program has been named a Screening Center of Excellence by the Lung Cancer Alliance for its ongoing commitment to responsible lung-cancer screening. Mercy’s Lung Cancer Screening Program provides comprehensive, coordinated care, from the patient’s initial visit with a provider to their first low-dose CT scan and interpretation of these images, to evaluation and treatment of any cancer. The low-dose CT scan has been proven to save lives by finding lung cancer early. Studies have shown that low-dose lung screening can lower the risk of death from lung cancer by 20% in people who are at high risk.

“These designations reflect the overwhelming commitment of our lung-cancer care team to provide our patients with comprehensive care so that they may receive the best possible outcome,” said Dr. Laki Rousou, medical director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program and director of Robotic Surgery at Mercy Medical Center.