The Calaway-Young Cancer Center has been awarded three-year accreditation with commendation by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.

To earn the voluntary accreditation, a cancer program was required to meet or exceed 34 commission quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process and maintain excellence in providing comprehensive patient-centered care.

The core functions of the Commission on Cancer include setting standards for quality, multidisciplinary cancer patient care; surveying facilities to evaluate compliance with the 34 standards; collecting standardized and quality data from accredited facilities; and using the data to develop effective educational interventions to improve cancer care outcomes.

The commission has accredited more than 1,500 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 newly diagnosed cancer patients.

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.

• A cancer registry that collects data on type and stage of cancers and treatment results and offers lifelong patient follow-up.

• Ongoing monitoring and improvement of care.

A facility receives a three-year accreditation with commendation following an onsite evaluation by a physician surveyor, during which the facility demonstrates a commendation level of compliance with one or more standards that represent the full scope of the cancer program.

Calaway-Young staff “focused on patient-centered care more than most other programs I have seen,” said Dr. Joel D. Ohlsen, site surveyor. “Though this is a small program, they anticipate significant growth over the next several years. The staff (nursing, medical, allied) are exceptionally committed to providing the highest quality of care, and are fully engaged in the cancer committee.”

The accreditation will help with continued growth and recruitment of specialized physicians and nurses to the cancer center.

“This brings us one step closer to becoming the regional cancer center for our community,” Wilcox said.