The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has granted Three-Year Accreditation to the Patricia D. Pepe Center for Cancer Care program at OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center.
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.
Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer center, OSF Saint Anthony 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 achievement reflects the hard work of many Mission Partners in multiple fields in caring for our cancer patients,” Dr. Iftekhar Ahmad, Medical Director, Oncology Services, OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center Patricia D. Pepe Center for Cancer Care. “Our oncology program here at OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center has been recognized by the Commission on Cancer as offering high quality cancer care – a goal we strive for every day. It is recognition of the quality of our comprehensive patient care and of our commitment that patients will have access to all of the various medical specialists who are involved in diagnosing and treating cancer.”
The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for OSF Saint Anthony 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, OSF Saint Anthony 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.
To learn more about the Patricia D. Pepe Center for Cancer Care visit: www.osfhealthcare.org/saint-anthony/services/cancer/
Or call (815) 227-CARE (2273).