Montefiore in the News

MECCC is Ranked Among the Best for Treatment Outcomes and Integrative Oncology Efforts 

NEW YORK (February 11, 2015) – Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care, a premier cancer center that provides patient-centered care for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, today announced that it has received Three-Year Accreditation with Silver Level Commendation from the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons. 

To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet or exceed 34 CoC quality care standards, be evaluated every three years and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care. Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation is only awarded to a facility that exceeds standard requirements at the time of its triennial survey.  

“The CoC utilizes expertise from the entire oncology community to set the highest standards for accrediting programs,” said Steven Libutti, M.D., F.A.C.S., director, Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care, professor and vice chairman in the Department of Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and professor in the Department of Genetics and associate director of clinical services at Einstein. “Our receipt of Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation reinforces Montefiore’s standing as a national leader advancing prevention, diagnosis and treatment of rare and common forms of cancer in all stages. We are very proud of this achievement and our team’s unwavering commitment to enhance the lives of those impacted by cancer. I especially want to thank Dr. Richard Smith, our director of the Head and Neck Service and Cancer Committee chairman, and Linda Fisher, director of the Cancer Registry for their outstanding efforts during this process.” 

Montefiore was specifically recognized by the CoC for its cancer treatment outcomes and integrative clinical programs, including the expansion of palliative care to the inpatient setting and psychosocial services like peer counseling and mind-body therapies. Montefiore was also noted for its availability of clinical trials and new treatments like genetic counseling. 

Since 2009, Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care, a Center of Excellence at Montefiore, has eliminated traditional boundaries to care, offering multispecialty teams of physicians with subspecialty expertise composed of medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, plastic surgeons, surgical oncologists, pathologists and other medical specialists. MECCC’s research partnership with the NCI-designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center offers patients access to the newest technologies, techniques and medications for cancer treatment. Current areas of research include new molecular therapies for treatment of lung 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: www.facs.org/cancer. 

For more information on Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care, visit http://www.montefiore.org/cancer or call 718-862-8840.