This award reinforces what we've known: Patients do not need to leave this area to receive outstanding cancer care.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (PRWEB) March 27, 2015
Mercy Health Youngstown, formerly Humility of Mary Health Partners, is among only 75 cancer care centers in the country to receive the 2014 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons.
Criteria for the award are based on qualitative and quantitation surveys conducted last year.
The purpose of the award is to improve quality cancer care and increase awareness about care choices among cancer patients and their loved ones. In addition, the award seeks to:
- Recognize cancer programs that achieve excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients.
- Motivate other cancer programs to work toward improving their level of care.
- Facilitate dialogue between award recipients and health care professionals at other cancer facilities for the purpose of sharing best practices.
- Encourage honorees to serve as quality-care resources to other cancer programs.
“More and more, we’re finding that patients and their families want to know how the health care institutions in their communities compare with one another,” said Daniel P. McKellar, M.D., FACS, chairman of the CoC. “They want access to information in terms of who’s providing the best quality of care, and they want to know about overall patient outcomes. Through this recognition program, I’d like to think we’re playing a small, but vital role, in helping them make informed decisions on their cancer care.”
The 75 cancer-care programs receiving the award represent 15 percent of programs surveyed by the CoC in 2014. “These 75 cancer programs currently represent the best of the best – so to speak – when it comes to cancer care,” added Dr. McKellar. “Each of these facilities is not just meeting nationally recognized standards for the delivery of quality cancer care, they are exceeding them.”
“Being designated as an Outstanding Cancer Center is a testament to the high quality cancer care we are providing here in the Mahoning Valley,” said Kathy Cook, president of St. Joseph Warren Hospital. “It reinforces what we’ve known all along: patients do not need to leave this area to receive outstanding cancer care.”
Only seven cancer care programs in Ohio received the award including St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima, which is also a Mercy Health hospital.
For a complete list of the award-winning cancer programs visit: https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/cancer/accredited/about/outstanding/2014.
About Mercy Health Youngstown
Mercy Health Youngstown, formerly Humility of Mary Health Partners, is an integrated health system in the Mahoning Valley, which encompasses the Youngstown/Warren metropolitan area – Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in Ohio. It is part of Mercy Health, which is headquartered in Cincinnati and is the largest health system in Ohio and one of the largest Catholic health systems in the United States. Mercy Health Youngstown provides a full spectrum of health care services – acute inpatient and trauma, outpatient and ambulatory, rehabilitation, behavioral, emergency and urgent care, primary care physicians in patient-centered medical homes, specialist physician care, home health, home medical equipment, long-term care and hospice care, as well as Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley. Learn more at http://www.mercy.com/Youngstown.
About the Commission on Cancer’s Outstanding Achievement Award
Established in 2004, the CoC’s Outstanding Achievement Award is designed to recognize cancer programs that strive for excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients. Programs are evaluated on 34 cancer program standards categorized within one of four cancer program activity areas: cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, clinical services, and quality improvement. Programs are further evaluated on seven commendation standards. Award recipients must have received commendation ratings in all seven commendation standards, in addition to receiving a compliance rating for each of the 34 cancer program standards. For more information on program standards, visit: https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/cancer/coc/standards
About the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer
Established in 1922 by the ACS, 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. The CoC provides the public with information on the resources, services, and cancer treatment experience for each CoC-accredited cancer program online at: https://www.facs.org/search/cancer-programs.
The CoC’s accreditation program encourages hospitals, treatment centers and other facilities to improve their quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs. 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 each year. For more information on the CoC, visit: https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/cancer.
About the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 80,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit http://www.facs.org.
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