McLaren Macomb Cancer Program Earns National Accreditation with Commendation

The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons has granted a three-year accreditation with Gold Commendation to the cancer program at McLaren Macomb’s Ted B. Wahby Cancer Center. The cancer program was first accredited in 2008 and again in 2011.

To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet or exceed 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. Three-year accreditation with commendation is only awarded to a facility that exceeds standard requirements at the time of its triennial survey.

“We are honored to receive the Commission on Cancer accreditation with commendation,” said Pat Keigher, director of cancer services at McLaren Macomb. “It demonstrates the commitment of our cancer team to provide the best care to our patients.”

As a CoC-accredited cancer center, McLaren Macomb’s Ted B. Wahby Cancer Center takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer 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 McLaren Macomb to improve its quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs 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, McLaren Macomb’s Ted B. Wahby Cancer Center maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society (ACS). 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.

There are currently more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, representing 30 percent of all hospitals. CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients. When cancer patients 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 http://www.facs.org/cancerprogram/index.html.

About the Commission on Cancer

Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the CoC 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