Tanner Cancer Care’s Roy Richards, Sr. Cancer Center has been awarded another three-year term of accreditation in radiation oncology from the American College of Radiology (ACR).
Radiation oncology — also known as radiation therapy or radiotherapy — is a standard treatment for cancer, prized for its ability to destroy the DNA in cancer cells, thereby destroying the cancer. Radiation oncologists may use radiation to eliminate cancer cells or to relieve a cancer patient’s pain.
“The Roy Richards, Sr. Cancer Center has been providing patients in west Georgia and east Alabama with the most sophisticated, advanced radiotherapy services available for more than 20 years,” said Loy Howard, president and CEO of Tanner Health System. “This continued accreditation acknowledges our ability to provide technically advanced radiation therapy techniques and excellent patient care, with a commitment to the utmost levels of quality and patient safety.”
The ACR is the nation’s oldest and most widely accepted radiation oncology accrediting body, with more than 650 accredited sites and almost 30 years of accreditation experience. The ACR seal of accreditation represents the highest level of quality and patient safety, awarded only to facilities meeting specific practice guidelines and technical standards developed by ACR after an extensive, on-site peer review evaluation by board-certified radiation oncologists and medical physicists.
Patient care and treatment, patient safety, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Radiation Oncology Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.
“This was a great opportunity for an outside, unbiased and well-respected organization to review in detail our cancer center in regards to quality assurance, technical specifications and overall patient care,” said J. Richard Bland, MD, a board-certified radiation oncologist with Tanner Radiation Oncology and medical director for Tanner Cancer Care.
Last year, Tanner completed an almost $6 million investment in the Roy Richards, Sr. Cancer Center, which included the installation of a new linear accelerator, enabling Tanner Cancer Care to deliver radiation therapy to cancer patients faster and with more precision than ever. The new accelerator uses Varian Medical Systems’ advanced TrueBeam platform for image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery. It is the first fully-integrated radiation delivery system designed from the ground up to treat a moving target quickly and accurately.
A new CT system — designed to more accurately plan cancer treatments, reducing the exposure of healthy cells to radiation — was also part of the center’s improvements.
“Cancer care has long been a major focus for the health system,” said Howard. “It’s something that affects so many people in our region. Exceptional cancer care shouldn’t just be available from big-city cancer programs or exclusive, for-profit providers. At Tanner, we’re making world class cancer care available through our community-based treatment program, from a highly-trained and experienced cancer care team that treats each patient as a neighbor.”
Tanner Cancer Care is also accredited by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer (CoC), which requires meeting or exceeding more than 30 quality care standards to demonstrate a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer.
Located on the campus of Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton, the Roy Richards, Sr. Cancer Center is part of Tanner Cancer Care’s complete approach to treating cancer, including the latest in sophisticated and precise radiation therapies. To learn more about the Roy Richards, Sr. Cancer Center and the Tanner Cancer Care Promise: Three Days From Diagnosis to Treatment Options, visit www.TannerCancerCare.org.