New Brunswick, NJ - The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has granted Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation to The Cancer Program at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health facility, in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet or exceed the 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. Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation is only awarded to a facility that exceeds standard requirements at the time of its triennial survey.
RWJUH and Rutgers Cancer Institute’s program takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases that requires consultation among surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists. This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care.
“Earning this accreditation is a testament to the advanced cancer care and exceptional team of clinicians on our academic medical campus who provide residents of our state and region the finest cancer treatment available,” says Kimyatta Washington, MHSA, Vice President and Director of Operations, Oncology Services, RWJUH and Rutgers Cancer Institute. “We’re proud to offer our patients outstanding care, novel clinical trials and the most advanced technologies including gamma knife and proton beam therapy, that are found at only a small number of elite institutions nationally.”
“This milestone of the highest commendation achievable for a cancer program demonstrates the partnership between our academic medical campus and NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Our commitment to excellence in key program standards enables our teams to offer groundbreaking cancer treatments, innovative technology, state-of-the-art research, and clinical trials to our patients – making us the leader in cancer care in the region. We are proud to be recognized in this way,” notes Cancer Committee Chair and Rutgers Cancer Institute radiation oncologist Rahul R. Parikh, MD, who is also the Medical Director of the Laurie Proton Therapy Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick and an Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for RWJUH to improve the quality of its 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-accredited 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, RWJUH 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.
The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 1.7 million cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2018. CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. When cancer patients choose to seek care locally at a CoC-accredited cancer center, such as RWJUH/Rutgers Cancer Institute, they are gaining access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art cancer care close to home.
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) New Brunswick, an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is a 600-bed academic medical center that serves as the principal teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, bariatric surgery and women’s and children’s care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org). A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH’s New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.
RWJUH has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report seven times and has been selected by the publication as a high performing hospital in numerous specialties. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report five times. In addition, RWJUH was named among the best places to work in health care by Modern Healthcare magazine and received the Equity Care of Award as Top Hospital for Healthcare Diversity and Inclusion from the American Hospital Association. RWJUH Brunswick has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety, including the prestigious Magnet® Award for Nursing Excellence and “Most Wired” designation by Hospitals and Health Networks Magazine. The American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer has rated RWJUH New Brunswick among the nation’s best comprehensive cancer centers. For more Information visit us online at www.rwjuh.edu.
About Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Rutgers Cancer Institute, along with its partner RWJBarnabas Health, offers the most advanced cancer treatment options including clinical trials and novel therapeutics such as precision medicine and immunotherapy – many of which are not available at other facilities across the state. Patients have access to these cutting-edge therapies throughout the state at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey at University Hospital in Newark, as well as at RWJBarnabas Health.
Along with world-class treatment, which is often fueled by on-site research conducted in Rutgers Cancer Institute laboratories, patients and their families also can seek cancer preventative services and education resources throughout the Rutgers Cancer Institute and RWJBarnabas Health footprint statewide. To make a tax-deductible gift to support the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, call 848-932-8013 or visit www.cinj.org/giving.
Contact:
Peter Haigney
RWJUH Public Relations
peter.haigney@rwjuh.edu
732-937-8568