ECMC Cancer Program Accredited by the Commission On Cancer Of The American College Of Surgeons
ECMC, a member of the Great Lakes Cancer Care Collaborative, earns National Accreditation from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.
BUFFALO, NY—The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has granted Three-Year Accreditation to the cancer program at Erie County Medical Center, a member of the Great Lakes Cancer Care Collaborative. 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.
Thomas J. Quatroche Jr., PhD, President and CEO of ECMC said, “This outcome is a testament to the high-quality cancer care services at ECMC and the excellent clinical collaboration among our caregivers. Special thanks to our multi-disciplinary committee members who came together to oversee ECMC’s CoC accreditation process, which was conducted virtually due to lingering aspects of the pandemic. The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for ECMC to improve 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, and end-of-life care. This is yet another significant affirmation of the quality of care at ECMC.”
Victor Filadora, MD, MBA, President, Great Lakes Cancer Care Collaborative said, “Achieving Commission on Cancer designation has been a three-year journey for the ECMC team. It demonstrates ECMC’s commitment to improving the survival and quality of life for cancer patients. The team has made great strides in promoting cancer prevention, enhancing clinical trial offerings, educating the next generation of oncologists and providing comprehensive multidisciplinary care to our cancer patients. ECMC continues to be a leader in quality of care, and the WNY community is healthier and better off because of their leadership.”
Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer center, ECMC 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.
The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for ECMC to improve 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, 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, ECMC maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society. 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.
The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 1.7 million cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2018. There are currently more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed patients with cancer. 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 https://www.facs.org/search/cancer-programs.
ABOUT THE COMMISSION ON CANCER: Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the Commission on Cancer 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
ABOUT ERIE COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER (ECMC) CORPORATION: The ECMC Corporation includes an advanced academic medical center (ECMC) with 573 inpatient beds, on- and off-campus health centers, more than 30 outpatient specialty care services and Terrace View, a 390-bed long-term care facility. ECMC is a Level 1 Adult Trauma Center, a regional center for burn care, behavioral health services, transplantation, medical oncology and head & neck cancer care, rehabilitation, and a major teaching facility for the University at Buffalo. Most ECMC physicians, dentists and pharmacists are dedicated faculty members of the university and/or members of a private practice plan. More Western New York residents are choosing ECMC for exceptional patient care and patient experiences—the difference between healthcare and true care™. For more information, please visit ecmc.edu and follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
ABOUT GREAT LAKES CANCER CARE COLLABORATIVE: Great Lakes Cancer Care Collaborative was born out of a simple idea-to harness the region’s top talent and most advanced technology in a unique collaboration to diagnose, treat, and eliminate cancer. By working as a comprehensive, integrated team, we put the best medical minds together to create an individualized treatment plan for each patient to ensure the best possible outcome. And with the largest cancer team in the region behind you, you’ll never fight alone. Great Lakes Cancer Care Collaborative includes: Cancer Care of Western New York; ECMC General Physician, PC; Great Lakes Medical Imaging; Kaleida Health; UBMD Physicians’ Group; Western New York Urology Associates; and Windsong Radiology Group.