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American College of Surgeons, the Commission on Cancer Accreditation Committee Recognizes Tri-City Medical Center as a 2013 CoC Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient

The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) named Tri-City Medical Center as a recipient of its 2013 Outstanding Achievement Award.  The medical center joined a select group of 74 accredited cancer programs throughout the United States, and was one of only two named in San Diego and four in the state.  Award criteria were based on qualitative and quantitative surveys conducted last year.

Tri-City Medical Center was evaluated on 34 program standards categorized within one of five cancer program activity areas: cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, cancer conferences, clinical services and quality improvement.  Tri-City Medical Center was further evaluated on seven commendation standards.  To be eligible, all award recipients must have received commendation ratings in all seven commendation standards, in addition to receiving a compliance rating for each of the 34 other standards.  

“We are deeply honored to have earned this recognition,” said Casey Fatch, interim CEO of Tri-City Medical Center.  “Our medical staff has worked hard to raise the bar on quality cancer care, with the ultimate goal of increasing awareness about quality care choices among cancer patients and their loved ones. Tri-City Medical Center’s cancer programs ensure the full continuum of cancer care, from prevention through hospice and end-of-life care with dignity and quality of life.”

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Daniel P. McKellar, MD, FACS, Chair of the CoC, said “More and more, we’re finding that patients and their families want to know how the health care institutions in their communities compare with one another. They want access to information in terms of who’s providing the best quality of care, and they want to know about overall patient outcomes.  Through this recognition program, I’d like to think we’re playing a small, but vital role, in helping them make informed decisions on their cancer care.”

The 74 award-winning, cancer-care programs represent approximately 14 percent of programs surveyed by the CoC in 2013.

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“These 74 cancer programs currently represent the best of the best—so to speak—when it comes to cancer care,” added Dr. McKellar.  “Each of these facilities is not just meeting nationally recognized standards for the delivery of quality cancer care, they are exceeding them.”

OAA recipients represent community-based facilities, academic hospitals, NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, Veterans Administration hospitals, integrated networks, pediatric hospitals, and freestanding cancer centers. For a list of these award winning cancer programs visit: www.facs.org/cancer/coc/outstandingachievement2013list.html.

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