KentuckyOne Health Cancer care at Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East Earn National Accreditation by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons - Archived

KentuckyOne Cancer Care at Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East Earn National Accreditation by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons

Lexington, Ky. (December 8, 2014)—KentuckyOne Health Cancer Care at Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East, received three-year accreditation with commendation by the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS).  To earn this voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet or exceed 34 quality care standards and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care.

KentuckyOne Cancer Care at Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East 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. 

“KentuckyOne Cancer Care is dedicated to providing the best multidisciplinary cancer care to patients throughout the Commonwealth,” said Mark Milburn, Vice President, Oncology Services. “Accreditations like this demonstrate the highest standard of care that helps us to bring wellness, hope and healing to all, including the underserved.”

The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for KentuckyOne Cancer Care at Saint Joseph Hospital and Saint Joseph East to improve its quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs that focus on the full spectrum of cancer care. These programs include 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.  

Other benefits of accreditation include participation in and access to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society (ACS), 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.

About KentuckyOne Health
KentuckyOne Health, the largest and most comprehensive health system in the Commonwealth, has more than 200 locations including, hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies in Kentucky and southern Indiana. KentuckyOne Health is dedicated to bringing wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved.  The system is made up of the former Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System, along with the the University of Louisville Hospital and James Graham Brown Cancer Center. KentuckyOne Health is proud of and strengthened by its Catholic, Jewish and academic heritages.

About the 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

###