Parrish Medical Center Cancer Program Reaccredited by American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer

TITUSVILLE, FLA. (April 20, 2018)—Parrish Medical Center (PMC) has extended its streak as the area’s longest continually accredited cancer program by again earning certification from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC).

The PMC program, first accredited in 1989, is one of only two CoC-recognized programs in Brevard County.

PMC’s already-accredited cancer treatment program expanded to even broader patient care dimensions and services in 2016 when PMC and OMNI Healthcare, Brevard’s only physician-owned and managed multispecialty group, partnered in Titusville to open the Parrish Cancer Center.

To earn CoC accreditation—denoting quality assurance based on American College of Surgeons’ standards—a cancer program must voluntarily meet 34 CoC care quality standards, be evaluated every three years, and maintain levels of excellence in patient-centered care.

George Mikitarian, PMC president and CEO, said that accreditation sends to patients and families an important message about our commitment to quality care.

“They can have confidence – particularly in the demonstrated excellence over three decades – in the objective measurement, accomplishment, and results, of PMC’s cancer treatment program,” Mikitarian said. “It’s all part of our PMC vision: healing families, healing communities.”

As members of a CoC-accredited program, PMC’s team treats cancer in its various forms through the integrated care of surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists.

“The CoC Accreditation Program is the framework through which PMC continuously improves its patient care quality,” said Edwin Loftin, senior vice president of Integrated and Acute Care Services and chief nursing officer.

“Our focus on healing includes prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, correct treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease, and end-of-life care,” Loftin added. “The work, resources, and cooperation among healthcare providers and organizations add up to a better experience for patients and their families,” Loftin added.

As a CoC-accredited program, PMC maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society. Data enables CoC-accredited cancer programs like PMC’s to share information and improve quality.

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 1.7 million cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2018. When cancer patients seek care locally at a CoC-accredited cancer program, they have access to advanced cancer care close to home. The CoC Hospital Locator provides the public with information on CoC-accredited programs: https://www.facs.org/search/cancer-programs.

For more information about Parrish’s Cancer Program, visit parrishhealthcare.com/cancer, or call the cancer care patient navigator at 321-268-6111, ext. 3544.