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LONG BRANCH, NJ, September, 2008— Monmouth
Medical Center has gained “approval with commendation” from
the national Commission on Cancer for another three years with
an added distinction—earning its Outstanding Achievement
Award for attaining the organization’s highest recognized
level of excellence in providing cancer care.
 Monmouth captured the highly coveted designation for the first
time after retaining approval with commendation for its “teaching
hospital cancer program”—an accomplishment it has now
held for 26 years and is earned by only one in four hospitals in
the United States offering cancer care. The Commission on
Cancer grants its Outstanding Achievement Award to a smaller, elite
group of these hospitals after they attain top scores in several
major categories of performance following a comprehensive evaluation
process.
“As one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers,
we have now reached an important milestone in our long-standing
record of achievement by earning the Commission on Cancer’s
highest honor, the Outstanding Achievement Award,” says Frank
J. Vozos, M.D., FACS, executive director of Monmouth Medical Center,
an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System. “We
are exceptionally proud of this new distinction, which strengthens
our prominence as the region’s leading provider of cancer
care.”
Monmouth received the commission’s latest “seal of
approval” and accompanying achievement award based on the
results of its triennial on-site survey in October 2007. In
addition to being in full compliance with a total of 36 commission
standards, it received a commendation rating — the highest
level of compliance — in nine specific categories, which
elevated its status to the highest level of recognition.
“For more than 25 years, our multidisciplinary approach
to comprehensive care has been upheld by the Commission on Cancer,
the nation’s leading standards-setting body in this highly
specialized area of health care,” says David J. Sharon, M.D.,
medical director of the Leon Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth. “It
is an honor to be at the pinnacle of its highly regarded approval
program, which is a true testament of our ultimate goal — to
improve the survival and quality of life for all cancer patients.”
The Commission on Cancer approval is only awarded to facilities
that have voluntarily committed to provide the best in cancer diagnosis
and treatment. They must demonstrate that patients receive
the following:
- Quality care close to home.
- Comprehensive care offering a range of state-of-the-art services
and equipment.
- A multidisciplinary team approach to coordinate the best cancer
treatment options available.
- Access to cancer-related information, education and support.
- A cancer registry that collects data on cancer type, stage
and treatment results, and offers lifelong patient follow-up.
- Ongoing monitoring and improvement of care.
- Information about clinical trials and new treatment options.
To reaffirm its premier status as one of the nation’s leading
academic cancer centers, Monmouth met additional requirements for
the select “teaching hospital cancer program” category
of approval. This criteria includes being associated with
a medical school—Monmouth is a regional medical campus of
Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia—while
offering at least four residency programs, two of which must be
medicine and surgery.
Established by the American College of Surgeons, the Commission
on Cancer has approved about 1,500 cancer programs through its
rigorous evaluation process, which every facility must undergo
every three years. While this total represents only 25 percent
of all hospitals with such programs in the United States, more
than 80 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients are treated
are these facilities. The Chicago-based commission includes
nearly 100 individuals who are either surgeons from the American
College of Surgeons or representatives from the 42 professional
organizations affiliated with the commission.
For more than 40 years, the Leon Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth
has broadened its leadership role in oncology services through
the ongoing expansion of state-of-the-art programs and technologies
offered in many areas of cancer prevention, detection, treatment
and ongoing after-care.
Currently, the Institute for Advanced Radiation Therapy is preparing
to launch TomoTherapy, a 3-D imaging guidance technology that will
elevate Monmouth Medical Center to the next level of 3-D imaging
guidance treatment technology. Monmouth will become the first
hospital in the region to offer this revolutionary delivery system,
which provides even more options to patients with cancers of the
prostate, head and neck, and other organs that are near vital areas
of the body.
Also falling under the Leon Hess Cancer Center’s umbrella
of cancer services are the nationally acclaimed Jacqueline M. Wilentz
Comprehensive Breast Center and the Valerie Fund Children’s
Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders of The Children’s Hospital
at Monmouth, as well as the newly established David S. Zocchi Brain
Tumor Center, the Lung Cancer Center and a Center of Excellence
for Gastrointestinal Cancer Care.
For more information about Monmouth Medical Center’s broad
spectrum of cancer services or for a referral to a cancer specialist,
call 1-888-SBHS-123
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