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Home News Commission on Cancer honors Cancer Institute with outstanding achievement award

Commission on Cancer honors Cancer Institute with outstanding achievement award

Published: Monday, May 11, 2009

The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons has granted its 2008 CoC Outstanding Achievement Award to the cancer program at The University of Tennessee Medical Center Cancer Institute. UT Medical Center, one of just 92 facilities nationwide to receive the award, becomes the first facility in East Tennessee to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award.

“Being selected as an Outstanding Achievement Award recipient by the CoC is a tribute to the Cancer Institute physicians and staff who are committed to providing a high level of quality cancer care for our patients and their families,” said Renee Hawk, vice president of the UT Medical Center Cancer Institute.

Established in 2004, the CoC Outstanding Achievement Award is designed to recognize cancer programs that strive for excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients. UT Medical Center received the award following an on-site evaluation by a physician surveyor.

The medical center demonstrated compliance with the cancer program standards and achieved a “Commendation” level of compliance in seven designated standards (cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, clinical services, research, community outreach and quality improvement) that represent the full scope of cancer program activity. The majority of Outstanding Achievement Award recipients are community-based facilities; however, teaching hospitals and National Cancer Institute designated cancer centers, which are held to more stringent program standards, also may receive the award if they achieve the same high level of compliance and commendation. The cancer program at UT Medical Center has maintained continuous accreditation in the teaching hospital category by the CoC since 1980.

“I am very proud of our entire cancer team for earning this award which defines the span, quality and excellence of services provided in the community and to our cancer patients,” said Dr. John L. Bell, director of the UT Medical Center Cancer Institute. “To receive a commendation level of compliance in all seven possible categories is a remarkable achievement and reflects the ongoing accomplishments and mission of the Cancer Institute to patient care, education and research.”

Established in 1922, the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive quality care. 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 including on-site review of their performance. There are currently 1,400 CoC-approved cancer programs in the US and Puerto Rico, representing close to 25 percent of all hospitals. To maintain approval, facilities with CoC-approved cancer programs must undergo an on-site review every three years. Receiving care at a CoC-approved cancer program ensures that a patient will have access to the full quality spectrum of comprehensive cancer care close to home.

The University of Tennessee Medical Center is a 581-bed, not-for-profit academic medical center, which serves as a referral center for Eastern Tennessee, Southeast Kentucky and Western North Carolina. The Medical Center, the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, is one of the largest employers in Knoxville, TN.