MedStar Health Cancer Network Earns National Accreditation With Commendation by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons

BALTIMORE, MD--(Marketwired - Jun 3, 2015) -  The MedStar Health Cancer Network has been granted Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation from the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS). The Cancer Network, comprised of MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, MedStar Good Samaritan, MedStar Harbor and MedStar Union Memorial Hospitals, is committed to delivering the highest standards of care -- this national endorsement further validates the quality of care its experts provide to cancer patients in the Baltimore community.

"MedStar Health Cancer Network recognizes the importance of our multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer," said Phyllis Gray, vice president of Oncology for the MedStar Health Cancer Network. "We are proud of our commitment to providing the best possible care and outcome. This achievement speaks to the quality of our program and the opportunity to impact lives because of the team focus on a complex group of diseases. Cancer treatment relies on consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists."

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. 

The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for the four Baltimore MedStar hospitals to improve the 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.

To learn more about the Cancer Network, click here.