The Shadow
SALEM, VA (VR) — The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commission on Cancer (CoC), has granted three-year accreditation to the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at LewisGale Medical Center and LewisGale Hospital Pulaski. To earn CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet 34 quality care standards, be evaluated every three years, and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care. LewisGale Hospital Pulaski has held ASC CoC accreditation since 2004 and LewisGale Medical Center since 1974.
As a part of Sarah Cannon, LewisGale’s integrated cancer network takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases requiring consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists. This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care.
“It is a great accomplishment for the LewisGale Regional Health System to be granted this accreditation. It speaks to the hospitals’ focus on quality of care through a multidisciplinary approach. Caring for patients diagnosed with cancer is a team effort and one that takes patience and compassion,” said Andrew Fintel, MD. “Being accredited by the Commission on Cancer is just one way that we can consistently better ourselves in our fight against cancer.”
The CoC accreditation program provides the framework for LewisGale Medical Center and LewisGale Pulaski to improve the quality of patient care through programs that focus on 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 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.
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.
