August 22, 2019
THEDACARE ACCREDITED FOR QUALITY CANCER CARE
Recognition Granted from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons
APPLETON, Wis. – The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), has granted three-year accreditation to the cancer program at ThedaCare. To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet 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.
“Patients and their families can be confident in knowing they have access to world-class, highly-specialized cancer care experts and advanced technology right here in our community,” said Donna Boehm, Director of ThedaCare Cancer Care Services. “We are proud of the work we do every day to ensure we are meeting the highest quality standards in cancer care.”
Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer center, ThedaCare 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 aims to improve patient care.
“ThedaCare has state-of-the-art equipment and physicians who are highly experienced, offering the best care possible,” said Boehm. “That includes care at the Regional Cancer Center in Appleton and also in Neenah, Oshkosh and our outlying locations in Berlin, New London, Shawano and Waupaca.”
The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for ThedaCare 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.
“Our care teams are committed to cancer care, with the patient at the center of all care,” said Boehm. “There is a high level of commitment here at ThedaCare. We are fortunate that we have such a great program in Northeast and Central Wisconsin.”
Like all CoC-accredited facilities, ThedaCare maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society. 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.
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
About ThedaCare
For more than 110 years, ThedaCare® has been committed to improving the health of the communities it serves in Northeast and Central Wisconsin. The organization delivers care to a community of more than 600,000 residents in 14 counties and employs more than 7,000 healthcare professionals. ThedaCare has 180 locations including seven hospitals located in Appleton, Neenah, Berlin, New London, Shawano, Waupaca and Wild Rose. ThedaCare is the first in Wisconsin to be a Mayo Clinic Care Network Member, giving our specialists the ability to consult with Mayo Clinic experts on a patient’s care. ThedaCare is a not-for-profit healthcare organization with a level II trauma center, comprehensive cancer treatment, stroke and cardiac programs as well as a foundation dedicated to community service.
For more information, visit www.thedacare.org or follow ThedaCare on Facebook and Twitter.
Media should call Cassandra Wallace, Public Relations Specialist at 920.442.0328 or the ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah switchboard at 920.729.3100 and ask for the marketing person on call.
