MULLICA HILL — The Cancer Center at Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill, part of Inspira Health, has earned three-year re-accreditation from The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
The cancer center at Inspira Medical Center Vineland is also accredited by the CoC. 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.
As a CoC-accredited cancer center, Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill 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.
“I am very proud of the efforts of all of those involved in achieving another three years of accreditation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer,” said Dr. Carl J. Minniti Jr., Chairman, Cancer Committee at Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill. “There are many components to the process and it is very clear that the members of our Cancer Committee and Cancer Program worked diligently to achieve the honor, which benefits our institution, but most of all benefits the patients that we serve.”
The Commission on Cancer is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and the quality of life for cancer patients by setting standards which promote cancer prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive quality measures, assuring that patients are receiving the best cancer care available.
The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for cancer programs to improve their quality of care by focusing on the full spectrum of cancer care including: prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease, and end-of-life care. Accredited facilities also provide access to information on clinical trials and new treatments, genetic counseling, and patient centered services including psycho-social support, patient navigation, and survivorship care planning.
“The American College of Surgeons’ accreditation process includes a rigorous examination of all aspects of a cancer program,” said Erev Tubb, M.D., FACP, medical director of Cancer Services at Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill. “Our patients, as well as members of our community, can be confident that our program has met or exceeded the high standards for quality, safety and support set by the ACoS.”
Like all CoC-accredited facilities, the Cancer Center at Mullica Hill maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB). 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.
