Gynecologic Oncology Program at Highland Hospital Receives Joint Commission Certification
May 30, 2012
The Gynecologic Oncology Program at Highland Hospital has received Disease-Specific Certification for uterine and ovarian cancer from the Joint Commission, the nation's main accrediting body in health care.
"Pursuing this recognition demonstrates our commitment to provide high quality care," said Cynthia Angel, M.D., who led the effort for certification. "In addition, to maintain certification, our program will continually re-evaluate our practices and outcomes so we can best serve our patients and their families."
A Joint Commission surveyor conducted a site review of the program at Highland on May 24. She focused heavily on the continuum of care, including services in Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology and Infusion Center, Pathology and East 5, the dedicated women's inpatient unit.
Certification is based on compliance with national standards, effective use of evidence-based practices and an organized approach to measure performance and improvement. Disease-specific programs that successfully demonstrate compliance are awarded a two-year certification.
Highland's gynecologic oncologists treat patients with cervical, ovarian, uterine and vaginal cancers. Dr. Angel, Brent DuBeshter, M.D., Sajeena Thomas, M.D., and Eugene Toy, M.D., are with their patients through diagnosis, surgery, treatment and follow-up care. The team performs the most gynecologic oncology procedures in the region and leads New York state by volume in using the robotic (da Vinci) surgical system for gynecologic malignancies.