Rush-Copley Cancer Care Center Achieves Comprehensive Status

The Rush-Copley Cancer Care Center continues to distinguish itself as a leader in cancer care by earning the prestigious Comprehensive Cancer Program designation for community hospitals from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC) for the second consecutive time. 

Earlier this year the Cancer Care Center received a three-year accreditation with commendation from the commission’s approvals program. 

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that more than 1.3 million cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2006. There are currently more than 1,400 approved CoC cancer programs in the United States and Puerto Rico, representing close to 25 percent of all hospitals. These hospitals diagnose and/or treat 80 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients each year.

Once a cancer program receives accreditation, it is assigned an approval category that describes the range of services available within that program.  Rush-Copley’s designation is called a Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Program, which is the highest designation a community cancer center may attain.

“This designation is an important recognition for Rush-Copley’s Cancer Care Center,” said Kaushik Patel, M.D., an oncologist at Rush-Copley.  “It reaffirms that Rush-Copley is committed to providing the best in cancer diagnosis, advanced treatment and supportive care to our community.”

The comprehensive designation is based in part on Rush-Copley’s full range of diagnostic and treatment services, including access to clinical research trials, showing that Rush-Copley’s program meets or exceeds national standards established to ensure patients receive the best possible care at the local level.  The Approvals Program, a component of the CoC, sets quality-of-care standards for cancer programs and reviews the programs to ensure they conform to those standards.  Approval by the CoC is given only to those facilities that have voluntarily committed to providing the highest level of quality cancer care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance.  To maintain approval, facilities with CoC-approved cancer programs must undergo an on-site review every three years.

Receiving care at a CoC-approved 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 of 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 Commission on Cancer is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival rates 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 and 40 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of cancer care.