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Hoag Cancer Center Awarded Outstanding Achievement Award By
The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons
April 21, 2008 - Newport Beach, CA: Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian announced today that the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) has awarded Hoag Cancer Center the CoC Outstanding Achievement Award and granted a new three-year accreditation with commendation to the center as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Program.
Established in 2004, the CoC Outstanding Achievement Award was designed to recognize cancer programs that excel in providing quality care to cancer patients. The CoC recognizes programs that strive for excellence, motivate improvement, foster communication and share best practices.
“We are very proud to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award for the excellence of our cancer program,” said Medical and Scientific Director Robert O. Dillman, M.D. “It is the highest designation a community cancer center can achieve through the CoC and ACoS and is a testament to the quality of the physicians, nurses and staff who are the lifeblood of the comprehensive cancer programs at Hoag Hospital.”
The CoC Approvals Program evaluates facilities every three years and includes an on-site evaluation by a physician surveyor. During the visit, the facility is evaluated in areas such as cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, clinical services, research, community outreach, and quality improvement. To qualify for the Outstanding Achievement Award, facilities must receive a Commendation (+1) rating in seven specific areas:
• Analysis of outcomes
• Quality of data submitted to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB)
• Tumor staging by managing physicians
• Use of patient management guidelines
• Clinical trial accrual
• Use of screening and early detection programs
• Quality improvement efforts
In addition to the 1+ rating for the seven specific areas, a facility must receive a satisfactory compliance (1) rating for 29 other standards.
As a result of surveys performed in 2007, 67 programs received the Outstanding Achievement Award. This number represents approximately 15 percent of the programs surveyed during this period.
Hoag Cancer Center consistently maintains cancer survival rates well above national figures. Hoag was the first to demonstrate and publish the observation that patients treated in association with a cancer center have better survival rates than those who are treated in other environments that lack multidisciplinary care. Since the center’s opening in 1991, the relative five-year survival rates for Hoag patients with invasive cancer have increased from 58 percent to 77 percent, while nationally rates only improved from 55 percent to 66 percent. Dramatic and steady improvement in survival have occurred for patients with cancers of the lung, breast, colon/rectum, prostate, and lymphoma, which together account for more than half of all cancer deaths each year.
As the highest volume provider of cancer care in Orange County, Hoag Cancer Center manages approximately 2,000 newly diagnosed cancer patients each year, providing the latest state-of-the-art technology and treatment options. The center participates in a variety of clinical trials, develops patient-specific biological treatments in its cell biology laboratory, and provides a wealth of complementary care programs for patients.
About the Commission on Cancer and the American College of Surgeons
Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the Commission on Cancer (CoC) 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 42 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of cancer care.
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 and 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 multi-specialty 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
• Quality care close to home.
Cancer patient data is reported by each CoC-approved cancer program to the CoC’s National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint CoC/American Cancer Society program. The NCDB currently contains patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and treatment and out-comes information for more than 18 million cancer patients diagnosed and treated at hospital cancer programs in the US between 1985 and 2004. These data account for approximately two-thirds of newly diagnosed cancer cases in the US each year.
Through an exclusive partnership with the American Cancer Society, the CoC provides the public with information on the resources, services, and cancer treatment experience for each CoC-approved cancer program. This information is shared with the public on the American Cancer Society’s Web Site at www.cancer.org and through the American Cancer Society’s National Cancer Information Center at 1-800-ACS-2345.
For more information about the Commission on Cancer, visit www.facs.org/cancer/index.html.
About Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian (www.hoaghospital.org) is a 498-bed, not-for-profit, acute care hospital located in Newport Beach, Calif. Fully accredited by The Joint Commission and designated as a Magnet hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), Hoag offers a comprehensive mix of health care services, including Centers of Excellence in cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, orthopedics and women’s health. Recent studies released by HealthGrades place Hoag among the top 5% of hospitals in the nation for both Clinical Excellence and Patient Safety. National Research Corporation has endorsed Hoag as Orange County’s most preferred hospital for the past 12 consecutive years. And for an unprecedented 12 years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as the county’s best hospital in a local newspaper survey.
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