Rush-Copley Cancer Care Center Achieves Comprehensive Status

(June 8, 2009)  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 third consecutive time. 

Recently Rush-Copley's Cancer Care Center received a three-year accreditation with commendation from the commission's approvals program. With this approval, Rush-Copley ranks among the top 40 percent of all CoC-approved cancer programs nationwide and in the top 25 percent of all CoC-approved cancer programs in the State of Illinois.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that more than 1.4 million cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2009. There are currently more than 1,500 approved CoC cancer programs.  These hospitals diagnose and/or treat 80 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients each year.  This statistic emphasizes the level of commitment to resources that Commission-approved programs have made to care of patients with cancer.

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." said Kaushik Patel, M.D., Medical Oncologist and Chair of the Oncology Committee at Rush-Copley.  "It reaffirms our commitment 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. 

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.