SVRCC Receives American College of Surgeon’s Accreditation

BENNINGTON, VT—March 25, 2021—The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), has granted 3-year accreditation to the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center (SVRCC), part of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) and Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC).

“This voluntary program is an important national benchmark for us to validate that our patients are receiving the very best care possible,” said Charlene Ives, MD, a medical oncologist and medical director for the Center. “Our goal is to provide the care and  support needed by our patients and their families as they navigate their cancer diagnosis.”

To earn CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet 34 CoC quality care standards, be evaluated every 3 years through a survey process, and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered  cancer care.

The accreditation requires a multidisciplinary approach to treating the complexity of cancer and reinforces the  commitment of the comprehensive cancer team, including surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, nurses, social workers, nutritionists, and others.

“We have an outstanding team dedicated to providing evidence-based standards set by the Commission,” said Jean Huntington, administrative director of SVRCC.  “The CoC standards focus on the full continuum of cancer—from prevention to survivorship and end-of-life-care—while addressing both survival and quality of life.”

There are more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. The program provides the SVRCC a framework for continual improvement in all its cancer-related programs, including those that focus on prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease, and end-of-life care. CoC centers contribute to the National Cancer Data Base, which tracks treatment patterns and outcomes, and have access to the databases benchmark reports.

About the Commission on Cancer:
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 facs.org/cancer.

About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, health care system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care is among the most lauded small rural health systems in the nation. It is the recipient of the American Hospital Association’s 2020 Rural Hospital Leadership Award. SVMC ranked fourth nationwide for the value of care it provides by the Lown Institute Hospital Index and is a five-time recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. It has also received the highest marks possible from the Leapfrog Group. 

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.