Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center Earns National Accreditation

OMAHA - The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) has granted Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation to the cancer program at Methodist Hospital’s Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center.

Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation is only awarded to a facility that exceeds standard requirements at the time of its triennial survey. Methodist has been continuously accredited by the CoC since 1956. 

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. 

Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer center, Methodist takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases that requires consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists. This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care. 

“Our multidisciplinary team of experts participates in an in-depth exploration of each patient’s case,” said Patty Bauer, service executive, Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center. “These team meetings, also called a treatment planning conference, are held throughout the month for specific disease sites such as breast, gastrointestinal,  genitourinary, melanoma, head and neck, lung, neuro and sarcoma. We work together to weigh all test results and options and our team develops an individualized treatment plan for each patient."

The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for Methodist to improve its 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.  

Like all CoC-accredited facilities, Methodist Estabrook 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 choose to seek care locally at a CoC-accredited cancer center, they are gaining access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art cancer care close to home. 

About Methodist Hospital
Founded in 1891 by members of the Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska Methodist Hospital, is a not-for-profit, 423-bed acute care hospital serving the metropolitan-Omaha area. With more than 2,000 full-time employees and over 400 physicians on active staff, Methodist Hospital has a tradition of providing quality health care to the region in cardiovascular surgery, neurosurgery, cancer care, gastroenterology, orthopedics, and comprehensive diagnostic services.
 

About 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