Cancer Program Awarded three-year approval

3/2/2008

 NEWS RELEASE

August 2007       617-296-4012, EXT. 5222

Caritas Carney Hospital’s Cancer Program Awarded Three-Year Approval Based on Commitment to Excellence

Dorchester Facility Receives Formal Approval Status from Commission on Cancer
Dorchester, MA—Caritas Carney Hospital (CCH) today announced approval status of its Community Hospital Cancer Program for the next three years by the Commission on Cancer. This approval is given to facilities that voluntarily commit to provide the best in diagnosis and treatment of cancer and undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of its performance.
The survey measured performance in 36 standards from committee leadership and clinical management to cancer data management, community outreach, professional education and staff support as well as efforts in quality improvement in both quality improvement studies and patient care enhancements. Nine of these standards have a category of commendation status. CCH achieved commendation status in seven of these areas, including:
• Production of an annual report with outcome analysis;
• Perfect quality of data submission to the National Cancer Database (NCDB) each of the past 3 years;
• Excellent compliance with standards of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging criteria;
• 100% compliance with the College of American Pathologists (CAP) protocols in the pathology department reports;
• Terrific outreach activities including an excellent program for the Vietnamese population in the area;.
• Attendance by our consultant cancer registrar at a national meeting once every 3 years; and,
• Impressive improvements in performance improvement initiatives and patient care related enhancements that included MRI/PET initiatives, the opening of an infusion clinic as a joint venture with Commonwealth Hematology Oncology, Inc., the initiation of a multidisciplinary lung clinic service, palliative care initiative for our inpatients, establishment of the Cancer Care Fund and our Carney van transport program.
“This achievement culminates many years of staff dedication to providing the highest quality care to patients who have cancer,” said Geraldine Geary, Director of Medical Information Services and Cancer Program Coordinator at Caritas Carney Hospital. “Oncology care requires many disciplines to work as one, and everyone played a part in making the survey results a success.”
Caritas Carney Hospital also received positive feedback for efforts in some of the cancer program standards that do not have a formal commendation category status such as:
• Excellent patient follow-up percentages—97 percent for patients diagnosed since 1990; and,
• Numerous educational opportunities for clinicians.

Since its inception in 1922, the Commission on Cancer’s goal has been to reduce the morbidity and mortality of cancer through education, standard setting and the monitoring of quality care. In the 1930’s, the Commission established standards and a program of review and approval for cancer programs.

Caritas Carney Hospital is a 159-bed community teaching hospital affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine and a member of Caritas Christi Health Care, the second largest health care system in New England. Caritas Carney Hospital provides a wide range of services including primary care medicine, a wide range of surgical specialties and subspecialties, inpatient and outpatient psychiatry, emergency medicine, critical care, pediatrics, cardiology, neurology and ambulatory services.