Cancer Program Exceeds National Standards

Union Hospital was one of only five Maryland cancer facilities to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA) for exceeding national standards in providing quality care to cancer patients from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC). The cancer treatment program is the area's only Community Hospital Cancer Program certified by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.

This award represents the commitment by Union Hospital's Cancer Program staff to provide the highest level of quality care and to go beyond the standards set by the CoC approvals program. When patients come to Union Hospital for cancer treatment they can feel confident the program has exceeded standards and offers a full spectrum of services including diagnosis, prevention and screening, treatment, state-of-the-art cancer fighting technologies, ongoing monitoring and improvement of care and access to clinical trials.

A facility receives the OAA following a rigorous on-site evaluation by a physician surveyor from the American College of Surgeons. The surveyor looks for standards of cancer care including quality improvement, clinical services, research, community outreach, cancer committee leadership and cancer data management.

Only ninety-five of 478 programs nationwide received the OAA as a result of surveys performed in 2008. This represents approximately nineteen percent of the programs surveyed. To maintain approval, facilities with CoC-approved cancer programs must undergo an on-site review every three years.