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FOR RELEASE
February 3, 2012
Catawba Valley Medical Center’s Cancer Center Receives New Accreditation
HICKORY- The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) has granted Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation to the Cancer Program at Catawba Valley Medical Center.
A facility receives a Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation following the on-site evaluation by a physician surveyor during which the facility demonstrates a Commendation level of compliance with one or more standards that represent the full scope of the cancer program (cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, clinical services, research, community outreach and quality improvement). In addition, a facility receives a compliance rating for all other standards.
“Receiving this three-year accreditation means that we’re going the extra mile to ensure we’re striving for the highest quality standards,” said J. Anthony Rose, President & CEO of Catawba Valley Medical Center. “It shows our dedication to providing cancer care to our community and the broader area we serve. We are honored to be recognized for our Cancer Center.”
Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the CoC is the consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival rates and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education and the monitoring of comprehensive, quality care. Its membership includes the Fellows of the American College of Surgeons and 42 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of cancer care.
The core functions of the CoC include setting standards for quality, multidisciplinary cancer patient care; surveying facilities to evaluate compliance with the 36 CoC standards; collecting standardized and quality data from accredited facilities; and using the data to develop effective educational interventions to improve cancer care outcomes at the national, state and local level.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that more than 1.5 million cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2011. There are currently more than 1,400 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, representing close to 25 percent of all hospitals. This 25 percent of hospitals diagnose and/or treat 71 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients each year. In addition, a national network of more than 1,600 volunteer Cancer Liaison Physicians provides leadership and support for the CoC Accreditation Program and other CoC activities at these local facilities.
The Accreditation Program, a component of the CoC, sets quality-of-care standards for cancer programs and reviews the programs to ensure they conform to those standards. Accreditation by the CoC is given only to those facilities that have voluntarily committed to providing quality cancer care and that undergo a rigorous evaluation process and review of their performance.
To maintain accreditation, facilities with CoC-accredited cancer programs must undergo an on-site review every three years. Receiving care at a CoC-accredited cancer program ensures that a patient will have access to:
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Comprehensive care, including a range of state-of-the-art services and equipment
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A multispecialty, team approach to coordinate the best treatment options
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Information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options
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Access to cancer-related information, education and support
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A cancer registry that collects data on type and stage of cancers and treatment results and offers lifelong patient follow-up
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Ongoing monitoring and improvement of care
And, most importantly,
Each CoC-accredited cancer program reports its cancer patient data to the CoC’s National Cancer Database (NCDB), a joint CoC/American Cancer Society program. The NCDB currently contains patient demographics, tumor characteristics and treatment and outcomes information for more than 18 million cancer patients diagnosed and treated at hospital cancer programs in the U.S. between 1985 and 2004. These data account for approximately two-thirds of newly diagnosed cancer cases in the U.S. each year.
NCDB data is regularly used to monitor and improve the quality of patient care delivered in CoC-accredited cancer programs. The CoC requires programs to implement quality improvement initiatives that promote the delivery of quality, multidisciplinary cancer care and lead to ongoing educational interventions with local providers in the CoC-accredited cancer programs. Though an exclusive partnership with the American Cancer Society, the CoC provides the public with information on the resources, services and cancer treatment experience for each CoC-accredited cancer program. This information is shared with the public on the American Cancer Society’s Web site at www.cancer.org and through the American Cancer Society’s National Cancer Information Center at 1-800-ACS-2345. For more information about the Commission on Cancer, please visit www.facs.org/cancer/index.html.
Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, N.C., is the region’s largest not-for-profit, public healthcare system and serves the community without direct funding from taxes. CVMC provides and promotes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventive medicine and acute care. CVMC has received three Magnet designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and has been recognized for providing “An Outstanding Inpatient Experience” for a fourth consecutive year by J.D. Power and Associates. For more information, please visit www.catawbavalleymedical.org.
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FOR RELEASE (PHOTO ATTACHED):
January 25, 2012
Women In Philanthropy Held Quarterly Meeting January 18, 2012;
Give $20,000 to Catawba Valley Medical Center for two new infusion bays
HICKORY, NC—Catawba Valley Medical Center’s (CVMC) Women in Philanthropy held its first meeting of the New Year on January 18, 2012. The group voted to make a donation to CVMC to purchase two new infusion bays for the new Oncology Pavilion, scheduled to open March 2013. Guy Guarino, Chief Development Officer at Catawba Valley Medical Center, accepted the $20,000 donation on behalf of CVMC.
“I would like to thank the Women In Philanthropy for their generous donation to the Capital Campaign,” says Guy Guarino, Chief Development Officer at Catawba Valley Medical Center. “The money you have donated will make a huge difference in our patients’ lives. Twenty thousand dollars is an amazing gift and I cannot thank you enough.”
Women in Philanthropy is a group of women empowered to improve the services at Catawba Valley Medical Center by combining their gifts to bring about change. Mary Lee Miltier and Donna Wright volunteered to join the Steering Committee and currently serve as Co-Chairs of the Women In Philanthropy initiative at Catawba Valley Medical Center. There are currently 20 active members in this organization. For more information about the group, or to become involved, please call 828/326-3210 or visit www.catawbavalleymedical.org/women-in-philanthropy.
Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, N.C., is a not-for-profit, public healthcare system providing and promoting the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventative medicine and acute care. Located in Hickory, N.C., CVMC has received three Magnet designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and has been recognized for providing “An Outstanding Inpatient Experience” for a third consecutive year by J.D. Power and Associates. For more information, please visit www.catawbavalleymedical.org.
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FOR RELEASE
January 25, 2012
Catawba Valley Medical Center’s Health First Center Addresses What’s Normal About Aging
This is a 2012 series on Healthy Aging
HICKORY, NC – What’s Normal About Aging? This issue will be addressed in the first session of a series of Aging and Elder Care workshops. This session will be held on Tuesday, February 7 at 10:30a.m. at Catawba Valley Medical Center’s (CVMC) Health First Center at Valley Hills Mall.
“These days, being old doesn’t necessarily mean being sick,” says Glennie Daniels, PhD, CFCS, an extension agent for Catawba County’s NC Cooperative Extension and the presenter for this series. “Participants will learn the differences between normal and abnormal aging.”
Future sessions will deal with common diseases associated with aging and elder care including dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease and stroke. Family issues, care and living arrangements, family caretaking, taking care of the caregiver, death and dying, first aid and home tips, are topics that will be addressed in this series of free workshops, which are planned for the first Tuesday in each month. To register for this series, please call the Health First Center at 828/485-2300.
Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, N.C., is the region’s largest not-for-profit, public healthcare system and serves the community without direct funding from taxes. CVMC provides and promotes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventive medicine and acute care. CVMC has received three Magnet designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and has been recognized for providing “An Outstanding Inpatient Experience” for a fourth consecutive year by J.D. Power and Associates. For more information, please visit www.catawbavalleymedical.org.
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FOR RELEASE (PHOTO ATTACHED):
January 25, 2012
Catawba Valley Medical Center Recognizes January 2012 CARE Employee
HICKORY, NC – Catawba Valley Medical Center recognized Amanda Piotrowski, Registered Nurse in the Oncology Department, as the January 2012 CARE employee.
Following are remarks offered in nominating Amanda: “My Dad was Amanda’s patient and she could not have been better with him. She has a wonderful personality and when she came into the room, she always treated him as if he was the only patient she had to take care of that day. There are not enough words to express our gratitude for all she did for our family.” Congratulations, Amanda!
Catawba Valley Medical Center’s CARE employee, nominated monthly by employees and guests, embodies Courtesy, Attitude, Respect and Enthusiasm for commitment to maintaining a positive guest relations atmosphere while demonstrating a sincere compassion and concern for patients and fellow staff members.
Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, N.C. is the region’s largest not-for-profit, public healthcare system and serves the community without direct funding from taxes. CVMC provides and promotes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventive medicine and acute care. CVMC has received three Magnet designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and has been recognized for providing “An Outstanding Inpatient Experience” for a fourth consecutive year by J.D. Power and Associates. For more information, please visit www.catawbavalleymedical.org.
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FOR RELEASE
January 9, 2012
Catawba Valley Medical Center Ranked Among 2011 Top Performing Hospitals
Receives award for reliable, efficient and safe care
HICKORY, NC – Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) is among the 2011 Top Performing Hospitals in the Premier healthcare alliance’s national QUEST® collaborative.
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Increasing delivery of recommended evidence-based care to every patient, every time for 91 percent of the population. For example, providing flu vaccinations to all pneumonia patients, or prescribing a high blood pressure or chest pain medication to all heart attack patients prior to discharge.
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Saving lives by reducing avoidable hospital mortalities. The observed mortality to expected mortality rate (O/E) decreased from a baseline ratio of 1.3 to an O/E ratio of 0.81.
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Safely reducing the cost of care for each patient's hospitalization by an average of $5,294 to $3,950 per patient.
“Being a QUEST member means redesigning the way we operate so that patients receive reliable, safe and efficient healthcare every time they come in,” said Tony Rose, President & CEO of Catawba Valley Medical Center. “By collaborating to share our patient outcomes data and provider best practices with other members, we are leading the industry in driving the best results, which creates a competitive advantage.”
QUEST supports hospitals in delivering the best care possible, as well as sharing collaborative solutions to improve healthcare nationwide and influence public policies. Together, the current 278 QUEST members share ideas, strategies and proven practices to reduce variation, an approach that has been shown to improve care quality, safety and cost.
In just 30 months, QUEST members saved 25,235 lives and reduced healthcare spending by $2.85 billion through the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based care to 63,094 patients. In addition:
- Members' observed mortality is five percent lower than non-participants when compared to what is expected.
- Member costs for inpatient care have increased only four percent, compared to a national cost increase of 21 percent.
- Members began increasing adherence to evidence-based care delivery in patient experience, harm and readmissions last year to support new improvement goals such as those proposed by the Partnership for Patients program.
- Premier will announce complete year three collaborative results in January.
Susan DeVore, Premier president and CEO said, “These hospitals challenged themselves to overcome process failures and excessive costs by measuring themselves against each other to drive success. The achievements made by QUEST members are remarkable as they continue to reveal what is possible in healthcare. CVMC is a true standard setter for top quality care in America, as they support the health of people in their community.”
An advisory panel of experts from the country’s top health organizations, such as the National Quality Forum, The Joint Commission and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, guide collaborative members to achieve success.
About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 80,000-plus other healthcare sites using the power of collaboration to lead the transformation to high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by hospitals, health systems and other providers, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier has worked with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has an office in Washington. http://www.premierinc.com. Stay connected with Premier on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, N.C., is the region’s largest not-for-profit, public healthcare system and serves the community without direct funding from taxes. CVMC provides and promotes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventive medicine and acute care. CVMC has received three Magnet designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and has been recognized for providing “An Outstanding Inpatient Experience” for a fourth consecutive year by J.D. Power and Associates. For more information, please visit www.catawbavalleymedical.org.
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