LMH Health earns Commission on Cancer accreditation
LMH Health has earned official accreditation from the Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons. This accreditation, which is only awarded to institutions that can demonstrate a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases, comes after a rigorous, two-year survey process that monitored protocols, treatments and outcomes in LMH Health’s cancer care units.
“There has always been a fantastic team providing care to cancer patients in Lawrence Kansas, but this represents a major milestone for our hospital,” said Dr. Chad Tate, MD, surgeon at LMH Health and chairman of the cancer committee that sought accreditation. “This accreditation provides tremendous resources for our cancer patients and their providers. It also demands that we continue to meet rigorous quality standards for our care.”
The accreditation, which was granted through 2024, requires consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists and other cancer specialists. This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care.
The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 70 percent of cancer patients in the United States are diagnosed and/or treated at a CoC-accredited facility, though these hospitals represent just 25 percent of all U.S. hospitals. LMH Health joins just eleven other hospitals in Kansas with this distinguished accreditation.
“This accreditation took a combination of vision, commitment and willingness to put in the detailed work required,” Russ Johnson, president and CEO of LMH Health, said. “These are hallmarks of a great organization, and I am proud of all those involved in this exceptional team and what their work means for cancer patients in our community.”
LMH Health’s Oncology and Hematology Center, which opened its doors in 2000, is a partner for personalized cancer care close to home. A regional destination for progressive, integrated hematology and oncology care, the center is home to National Cancer Institute (NCI) trained physicians, multidisciplinary care teams, and strong regional partnerships.
Cancer patients at LMH Health have access to exceptional clinic trials, comprehensive support programs, lifelong survivorship resources, and a cancer prevention program. The center’s team of oncologists and hematologists has extensive experience in treating a wide range of cancer types, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, bladder cancer and kidney cancer, as well as lymphoma, leukemia and other blood diseases.
“I am so excited for our recent CoC accreditation,” said Jodie Barr, D.O., an NCI-trained oncologist with the LMH Health Oncology and Hematology Center. “This accreditation is a testament to the high-quality care that LMH Health offers our cancer patients. I am grateful for our multidisciplinary team that went to great strides to show the incredible work we do here on a daily basis.”
As an accredited facility, LMH Health maintains a cancer registry and will contribute data to the National Cancer Database, a joint program of the CoC and the 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 National Cancer Database and used to explore trends in cancer care. LMH Health providers have access to information derived from this type of data analysis, which is used to create national, regional and state benchmark reports.
The CoC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard setting, which promotes cancer prevention, research, education and monitoring of comprehensive quality care.
Established by the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) in 1922, the multidisciplinary CoC:
- Establishes standards to ensure quality, multidisciplinary and comprehensive cancer care delivery in health care settings
- Conducts surveys in health care settings to assess compliance with those standards
- Collects standardized data from CoC-accredited health care settings to measure cancer care quality
- Uses data to monitor treatment patterns and outcomes and enhance cancer control and clinical surveillance activities
- Develops effective educational interventions to improve cancer prevention, early detection, cancer care delivery, and outcomes in health care settings.
“I am so proud of the work done by this team,” said Sheryle D’Amico, vice president of the LMH Health physician division. “We have an excellent Oncology program, and becoming accredited through CoC is both a great achievement and a meaningful promise to the patients who seek care at our community hospital.”
