February 2016, Newton, NJ – The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) has once again granted three-year accreditation to the cancer program at Newton Medical Center.
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. As a CoC-accredited cancer center, Newton Medical Center 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.
In its review of the hospital, the CoC noted Newton Medical Center’s accomplishments in matching patients to cancer-related clinical trials, and also observed that more than a quarter of the nurses at the hospital who treat cancer patients are Oncology Certified Nurses (OCNs).
Newton Medical Center has undertaken several recent enhancements to its oncology services, including the opening of the Center for Breast Health in Fall 2015, the only comprehensive breast center of its kind in Sussex County, as well as creating an infusion center set to open in the Spring.
Newton Medical Center’s oncology program also recently added the expertise of medical oncologists Michael Kane, MD, and Waina Cheng, MD. Dr. Kane serves as medical director of community oncology at Newton Medical Center.
“It is important for our patients to know that they have access to excellent cancer care close to home, and this recognition by the American College of Surgeons helps to once again highlight those accomplishments,” said Joe DiPaolo, president of Newton Medical Center.
In addition, Newton Medical Center is seamlessly connected to the oncology service line throughout Atlantic Health System, allowing patients to access services at its sister hospitals, Morristown, Overlook and Chilton medical centers.
“Patients who come to Newton Medical Center for treatment can rest assured that they will have the full breadth of cancer services available to them through Atlantic Health System’s Trusted Network of Caring,” said Lydia Nadeau, director of the oncology service line for Atlantic Health System.
The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for Newton Medical Center 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, Newton Medical 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.
ACS estimates that more than 1.6 million cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2013. 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. The CoC provides the public with information on the resources, services, and cancer treatment experience for each CoC-accredited cancer program through the CoC Hospital Locator.
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. Learn more >
About Newton Medical Center
Newton Medical Center, based in Newton, NJ, has been providing care to the community since 1932 and serves the people of Sussex and Warren counties in New Jersey, Pike County in Pennsylvania and southern Orange County in New York. It is home to the Center for Breast Health, the only center of its kind in Sussex County, addressing all of a woman’s breast health needs including state of the art technology, resources, education, support and follow up care. The hospital received the Outstanding Achievement Award and Three-Year accreditation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. The hospital received The Joint Commission advanced certification for Advanced Primary Stroke, and is the recipient of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®– Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite. Newton Medical is one of a select few health care facilities in New Jersey to be accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) in all three of the following echocardiography procedures: adult transthoracic, adult transesophogeal and adult stress. Newton Medical Center is part of Atlantic Health System, one of the largest non-profit health care systems in New Jersey. Atlantic Health System is creating a Trusted Network of Caring™. Our promise to our communities is that anyone who enters our system will receive the right care, at the right quality, at the right time, at the right place and at the right cost.
Learn more about our Trusted Network of Caring™ at Newton Medical Center>