Newswise — New Brunswick, NJ (August 12, 2024) – Cancer programs at several RWJBarnabas Health facilities, in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, were recently granted Three-Year Accreditation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC).
Facilities that received this accreditation include:
- Jersey City Medical Center
- Community Medical Center
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset
- Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton also received the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) recognition from the American College of Surgeons, which is granted to centers committed to providing the best and most comprehensive available care to patients with breast cancer. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick joined the list of facilities that received accreditation in 2022.
“This reaccreditation by the Commission on Cancer reaffirms the comprehensive value that our multidisciplinary cancer program provides our communities across New Jersey, with renowned specialists who champion cancer prevention and treatment through innovative technology and targeted cancer treatments supported by the latest research,” said Steven K. Libutti, MD, FACS, Director of Rutgers Cancer Institute and Senior Vice President, Oncology Services, RWJBarnabas Health. “Rutgers Cancer Institute and RWJBarnabas Health will continue to provide world-class cancer care across our system.”
RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute are broadening New Jersey’s access to cancer care with the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, New Jersey’s only freestanding cancer hospital, slated to open in New Brunswick in early 2025. The Melchiorre Cancer Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston will also begin providing cancer care in 2025, and the Vogel Medical Campus in Monmouth County will include outpatient comprehensive cancer services in 2026.
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 CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for hospitals, including RWJBarnabas Health facilities, to improve the 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 healthcare systems with CoC-accredited facilities, RWJBarnabas Health maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), 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 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.
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. For more information, visit: www.facs.org/cancer
About RWJBarnabas Health
RWJBarnabas Health is the largest, most comprehensive academic health care system in New Jersey, with a service area covering eight counties with five million people. The system includes twelve acute care hospitals – Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, Community Medical Center in Toms River, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset in Somerville, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton in Hamilton, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway in Rahway and Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, three acute care children’s hospitals, Children’s Specialized Hospital with a network of outpatient pediatric rehabilitation centers, a freestanding 100-bed behavioral health center, two trauma centers, a satellite emergency department, ambulatory care centers, geriatric centers, the state’s largest behavioral health network, comprehensive home care and hospice programs, fitness and wellness centers, retail pharmacy services, affiliated medical groups, multi-site imaging centers and two accountable care organizations.
RWJBarnabas Health is among New Jersey’s largest private employers – with more than 41,000 employees and 9,000 physicians– and routinely captures national awards for outstanding quality and safety. RWJBarnabas Health launched an affiliation with Rutgers University to create New Jersey’s largest academic health care system. The collaboration aligns RWJBarnabas Health with Rutgers' education, research and clinical activities, including those at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey - the state's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center - and Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. For more information, visit www.RWJBH.org.
About Rutgers Cancer Institute
As New Jersey’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rutgers Cancer Institute, together with RWJBarnabas Health, provides patients access to the most advanced treatment options including clinical trials close to home at our facilities throughout the state. Our groundbreaking cancer research is the engine that drives access to the most advanced cancer treatments, where our discoveries become your care. This will be enhanced with the opening of the state’s first freestanding cancer hospital, the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, in 2025.
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