For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Tracey Lynn Samdahl, Shaw Regional Cancer Center
970- 569-7605

SHAW REGIONAL CANCER CENTER RECEIVES ACCREDITATION
 --Shaw earned seven out of seven possible commendations
 --Only one in four cancer programs are accredited by Commission on Cancer

Edwards, Colo. – Sept. 25, 2007 – The Shaw Regional Cancer Center, part of the Vail Valley Medical Center, recently received accreditation from the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer, placing it among the elite cancer treatment facilities in the country. 

The Shaw Center, which opened in 2001, is now accredited as a Community Hospital Cancer Program, meaning that it provides a full range of diagnostic and treatment services. In addition, to receive the accreditation, the members of the medical staff must be board certified in the major medical specialties.  The Shaw Center also participates in clinical research programs through its relationship with the University of Colorado.

“This is a wonderful testament to the hard work, talent and dedication of the entire staff at the Shaw Center,” said Greg Repetti, CEO and president of Vail Valley Medical Center.  “Our community, and all of the Central Rockies area, is fortunate to have the Shaw Center available to us.”

Being an accredited program means that Shaw Center has demonstrated that its patients will receive:
• Quality care close to home
• Comprehensive care offering a range of state-of-the-art services and equipment
• A multi-specialty, team approach to coordinate the best treatment options available to cancer patients
• Access to cancer-related information, education, and support
• A cancer registry that collects data on type and stage of cancers and treatment results, and offers lifelong patient follow-up
• Ongoing monitoring and improvement of care
• Information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options

To meet the standards necessary for Commission approval, each cancer program, and the organization that controls it, must undergo a rigorous evaluation process and a review of its performance. In order to maintain approval, facilities with approved cancer programs must undergo an onsite review every three years. 

In addition, a cancer program is eligible for up to seven commendations in its first year of accreditation.  The Shaw Regional Cancer Center received all seven of those, an amazing feat for any program.  The commendations covered such areas as data collection and reporting, ongoing education of staff, community outreach programs, clinical trial participation, quality of its National Cancer Database submissions and an ongoing program of commitment to improvement.
 
“There are 36 separate standards on which we were evaluated, and each one of those requires tremendous efforts to meet,” noted Tracey Lynn Samdahl, Executive Director of the Shaw Center.  “To have met those, and to have earned all seven commendations possible in our first year, is truly extraordinary. And while this is absolutely a team effort, special recognition certainly goes to Shannon Hart, our certified tumor registrar, who led us through the survey. ”

The Shaw Regional Cancer Center is the only cancer center that serves residents and second home owners in the central Rockies, primarily serving Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin, Lake, Summit and Routt counties. Cancer patients receive a personalized regimen of advanced technological cancer treatments and alternative cancer treatments managed by a nationally recognized medical staff.  For more information on the Shaw Center, please visit www.shawcancercenter.com.

The Commission on Cancer Approvals Program encourages hospitals, treatment centers, and other facilities to improve their quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs. These programs are concerned with prevention, early diagnosis, pretreatment evaluation, staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, surveillance for recurrent disease and multiple primary tumors, psychosocial support, and care at the end of life. This availability of a full range of medical services involved in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer at approved cancer programs has resulted in approximately 80 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients being treated in Commission on Cancer approved cancer programs.  For more information, please visit http://www.facs.org/cancerprogram/home.html.

Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the Commission on Cancer is a 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 Fellows of the American College of Surgeons and 42 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of cancer care.
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