Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Care earns prestigious radiation therapy accreditation

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Three-year, unconditional accreditation signifies highest level of patient safety and quality of radiation therapy services

Fall River, MA – Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Care has been awarded an unconditional three-year accreditation in radiation oncology as the result of a recent intensive review by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Radiation oncology, or radiation therapy, is the careful use of high-energy radiation to treat cancer. A radiation oncologist may use radiation to treat cancer or to relieve a cancer patient’s pain.

Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Care’s radiation therapy services in Fall River and Dartmouth are provided by radiation physician specialists from Brigham and Women’s Physician Organization who also hold appointments at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.

Raymond Dugal, MD, chief of radiation oncology for Saint Anne’s, (left), expressed gratitude to the program’s team for working together to continually enhance the program’s radiation therapy program and provide more than 22,000 high-quality radiation therapy treatments annually. The team includes more than 30 board-certified physicians, radiation oncology board-certified medical physicists, dosimetrists, therapists, and oncology-certified registered nurses, as well as registered dietitians, social workers, chaplains, outreach workers, and other support staff specializing in cancer care.

“Our unconditional accreditation by the American College of Radiology and the American Society for Radiation Oncology underscores Saint Anne’s commitment to providing safe, progressively more sophisticated radiation therapy for more than 30 years,” said Dr. Dugal.

“Through our team’s expertise and adherence to the industry’s rigorous standards of quality care, Saint Anne’s has been able to offer the area’s most advanced radiation therapy capabilities, thanks to both our technology and the high caliber of our medical professionals. Having up-to-date technology is important, but even more important is having a well developed, mature program, staffed by highly trained and experienced staff. We are pleased and gratified to be recognized for providing safe, effective and expert care to our patients,” he said.

The ACR-ASTRO seal of accreditation represents the highest level of quality and patient safety in radiation therapy. It is awarded only to radiation therapy programs meeting specific practice guidelines and technical standards developed by ACR and ASTRO after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified radiation oncologists and medical physicists who are experts in the field.

The ACR-ASTRO certification process includes assessment of patient care and treatment, patient safety, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs. Findings are reported to the ACR-ASTRO Committee on Radiation Oncology Accreditation, which subsequently provides the hospital with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.

Saint Anne’s Hospital’s Radiation Oncology program offers the region’s most expansive range of cancer treatment choices and technologies at its sites at the Hudner Oncology Center at Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River and the program’s campus on Faunce Corner Road in North Dartmouth. These include:
•        Multidimensional CT technology for state-of-the-art treatment planning.
•        Four linear accelerators that provide state-of-the art external beam therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), high-dose rate (HDR) radiation therapy, and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). SRS, IMRT, HDR, and IGRT have specific, high-level applications for treatment of brain and other neurological tumors; gynecologic, breast and skin cancers; tumors in the chest and abdomen that may move with normal breathing; and cancers of the head and neck, lung, pelvic region, and other sites.
•        Radioactive prostate seed implant therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer.
•        Fiducial markers (also known as "gold seeds") that are used in administering prostate cancer treatment.

The American College of Radiology (www.acr.org) is a national professional organization serving more than 34,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (www.astro.org) is a professional organization serving more than 10,000 radiation oncologists, medical physicists and other health care professionals involved in the treatment of cancer patients.

Saint Anne’s Hospital is a community hospital with comprehensive inpatient, outpatient, and emergency care services, serving adults and children in southeastern Massachusetts and nearby Rhode Island. Founded in 1906 by the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation, Saint Anne's Hospital is a member of Caritas Christi, the largest community-based healthcare system in New England and the 10th largest employer in Massachusetts. Saint Anne’s specialized centers and services include Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Care; the Robert F. Stoico/FIRSTFED Center for Breast Care; Caritas Diabetes Center; the Center for Pain Management; geriatric psychiatry; pediatrics, including inpatient care and specialty outpatient medical, behavioral and developmental care through the Fernandes Center for Children & Families; adult and pediatric rehabilitation; cardiovascular care; and primary care. Information about primary and specialty care, including appointments, is available by calling Caritas DoctorFinder, 1-800-488-5959.

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