Holzer Earns National Accreditation from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons
The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) has granted Three-Year Accreditation to the cancer program at Holzer. To obtain 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.
Holzer takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer with consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists, as well as HMC Community Health and Wellness program, and the American Cancer Society. This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care.
“We take great pride in being able to maintain this accreditation from the CoC since 1934,” stated Ken Moore, Executive Director for the Holzer Oncology Service line. “Our staff is committed to providing top quality cancer care services.
Bonnie McFarland, RN, BSN, and the Director of HMC Community Health and Wellness, is the backbone of our monthly Cancer Support Group, as well as our liaison to the American Cancer Society.” The cancer support group meets monthly at Holzer in Gallipolis.
Alice Dachowski, MD, has served as the Systems’ Cancer Liaison Physician since 1993, spending countless hours at the national, state and local levels and applying that knowledge to the Holzer Health System. She is active in Gallia County’s American Cancer Society (ACS) Relay for Life and serves as Chairman of the Gallia Relay for Life Survivor Committee. She has been instrumental in collaborating with the ACS to implement Holzer’s monthly Cancer Support Group, which has provided many cancer patients and/or survivors a connection with others in an effort to form a much needed support system.
She is also an advocate for The Ohio Breast and Cervical Cancer Project and is a member of The American Society of Breast Surgeons. “It is a testimony to all the hard work of the Cancer Care Committee of Holzer that we received the accreditation status for three years, which is the maximum granted by the CoC,” stated Dr. Dachowski.
The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for Holzer’s continued improvement of 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, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease, supportive 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.
Like all CoC-accredited facilities, Holzer maintains a cancer registry and contributes 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.
ACS estimates that more than 1.6 million cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2013. There are currently more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, representing 30 percent of all hospitals. CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients. When cancer patients choose to seek care locally at a CoC-accredited cancer center, they are gaining access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art cancer care close to home. 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 http://www.facs.org/cancerprogram/index.html.
Receiving care at a CoC-accredited cancer program ensures that a patient will have access to:
• Comprehensive care, including a range of state-of-the-art services and equipment
• A multispecialty, team approach to coordinate the best treatment options
• Information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options
• Access to cancer-related information, education, and support
• A cancer registry that collects data on type and stage cancers and treatment results and offers lifelong patient follow-up
• Ongoing monitoring and improvement of care
And most importantly,
• Quality care close to home.
Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the CoC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving patient outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive, quality care. Its membership includes Fellows of the American College of Surgeons. For more information, visit: www.facs.org/cancer
The cancer program at the Holzer Center for Cancer Care has the benefits of over 160 Board Certified and Board Eligible physicians providing care in more than 30 areas of expertise, and a comprehensive healthcare system providing the entire continuum of care services for the communities we serve. The Center is located at 170 Jackson Pike in Gallipolis, Ohio.
The program is affiliated with the American Cancer Society, and services offered in multiple locations including a Cancer Resource Center (CRC). In addition, the Center collaborates with several ACS sponsored support groups such as Reach to Recovery, Man to Man, Look Good: Feel Better, and a monthly cancer support group. All of these programs are available to help cancer patients and their loved ones deal with the daily trials they face.
For more information on the cancer services at Holzer, please visit www.holzer.org or call 1-855-4-HOLZER
1-855-4-HOLZER.
