Pottstown Hospital recognized for cancer care
POTTSTOWN » For the fifth consecutive time, the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has recognized Pottstown Hospital for its cancer care.
The hospital has been awarded the 2017 Outstanding Achievement Award — one of 16 accredited cancer programs hospitals across the country recognized in November.
The Outstanding Achievement Award is presented twice a year to accredited cancer programs that exceed compliance expectations of the Commission on Cancer standards, according to a press release. Criteria for the award were based on surveys of cancer programs conducted during the first half of 2017.
“For the hospital, it is a very nice accolade; however the true significance is the level of individualized care provided during a life-altering diagnosis and in patients knowing Pottstown Hospital’s cancer center is one the absolute best for cancer care in the country,” said Rich Newell, Pottstown Hospital CEO.
He added that “very few” hospitals have earned the award five consecutive times.
The purpose of the award is to increase awareness among cancer patients and their loved ones about their care choices, according to a press release. In addition, the award is intended to:
• Recognize those cancer programs that achieve excellence in providing quality care to cancer
patients
• Motivate other cancer programs to work toward improving their level of care
• Facilitate dialogue between award recipients and health care professionals at other cancer facilities for the purpose of sharing best practices
• Encourage honorees to serve as quality-care resources to other cancer programs
Pottstown Hospital’s cancer program was evaluated on 34 program standards that were categorized within five areas including: program management, clinical
services, continuum of care services, patient outcomes and data quality. In addition, the cancer program was further evaluated on seven commendation standards.
To be eligible, all award recipients must have received seven commendation ratings and 27 compliance ratings.
There were a couple of areas that stood out, according to Peggy Neese, RN, BSN, OCN and director of Pottstown Hospital Cancer Center.
“We were recognized for our community outreach and our social worker, which both work directly with patients,” Neese said. The social worker uses a distress thermometer to
assess distress levels — whether anxiety, depression, financial, etc., and assists patients by providing resources. They also really liked our survivorship care plans — which help patients during treatment and post treatment.”
In addition, Neese said the hospital was commended for its monitoring compliance with evidencebased guidelines.
“Each calendar year, the cancer committee designates a physician member to complete an in-depth analysis to assess and verify that cancer program patients are evaluated and treated according to evidence-based national treatment guidelines,” she said, adding that the results
are presented to the cancer committee and documented in cancer committee minutes.
“More and more, we’re finding that patients and their families want to know how the health care institutions in their communities compare with one another,” Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, FACP, chairman of the Commission on Cancer, said in a release. “They want access to information in terms of who’s providing the best quality of care, and they want to know about overall patient outcomes.”
While Neese said the standards change each year, “we never stop preparing” for the evaluations, which come every three years for Pottstown
Hospital.
“The cancer committee and small groups of multidisciplinary review standards; meet monthly to report progress on each and look for best practices elsewhere,” she said, adding that everyone involved with the multidisciplinary team is accountable. “It is a huge team effort. Each person is responsible for reporting progress and what we need to address to better our level of care.”
The 16 hospital recognized in November represent approximately six percent of programs surveyed by the Commission on Cancer from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2017. Shulman added that the programs recognized exceed nationally recognized standards for delivering quality cancer care.
Pottstown Hospital has received the designation in five consecutive survey cycles: 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2017.