UNC Rex Cancer Care Earns National Accreditation from Commission on Cancer
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) has granted Three-Year Accreditation to UNC Rex Cancer Care. 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. The cancer program at Rex was the first in North Carolina to receive accreditation by the Commission on Cancer and has been granted continued accreditation by the CoC since 1991.
As a CoC-accredited cancer center, UNC Rex Cancer Care 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, navigators and other cancer specialists. This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care.
“It is a privilege to be granted this accreditation and it reflects the excellent care that our physicians and co-workers provide for all our patients,” said Tom Grates, executive director of the UNC Rex Cancer Care. “Unfortunately, we are seeing more patients every year. But we are proud that UNC Rex Cancer Care continues to be the preferred choice for patients in Wake County and beyond.”
UNC Rex Cancer Care is anchored by locations in Raleigh (at Rex Hospital and on Blue Ridge Road), Wakefield, Cary, Clayton, Garner and Smithfield. Physicians with UNC Rex Cancer Care work collaboratively with experts at the N.C. Cancer Hospital and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill to assemble the best personalized treatment plan that is unique to each patient’s needs. For more information about UNC Rex Cancer Care, visit rexhealth.com/cancer.
The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for UNC Rex Cancer Care to maintain 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, UNC Rex Cancer Care 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. The CoC provides the public with information on the resources, services, and cancer treatment experience for each CoC-accredited cancer program.
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
Learn more about UNC Rex Cancer Care services.
