South Nassau Cancer Program Earns Prestigious Award from ACS Commission on Cancer

Online, May 24, 2013 (Newswire.com) - South Nassau Communities Hospital's Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center has been named a recipient of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commission on Cancer (CoC) Outstanding Achievement Award. South Nassau is one of just seven hospitals in New York and only 84 in the United States to receive the prestigious award in 2012.

"We are pleased to earn this prestigious award. At the same time, we understand that the ultimate reward for us is to fulfill the communities' needs for compassionate, patient-centered, standard-setting healthcare services," said Richard J. Murphy, president and CEO of South Nassau. "So we will not relent in taking all actions necessary to ensure our patients have access to a cancer program that combines experienced oncologists with leading-edge medical and surgical cancer treatment technologies."

Treating approximately 1,500 patients annually, The Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center has evolved into one of the Northeast corridor's premiere providers of compassionate advanced cancer care. The center is the only one on Long Island that is equipped with three of the most advanced and effective technologies used to treat and eradicate cancer: the Varian Novalis Tx™, da Vinci® Surgical System and Gamma Knife® Perfexion.

In addition to its Cancer Center in Valley Stream, NY, The Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center incorporates the following specialty cancer care services:
• South Nassau's GYN Oncology Department (Valley Stream, NY)
• South Nassau's Long Island Gamma Knife® Center (Oceanside, NY)
• South Nassau's Center for Prostate Health Program (Oceanside)
• South Nassau's Center for Breast Health (Oceanside)
• South Nassau's Center for Lung Health (Oceanside/Valley Stream)
• South Nassau's Radiation Oncology Department (Oceanside and Valley Stream)
• South Nassau's Surgical Oncology Department (Oceanside and Valley Stream)
• Complete Women's Imaging Center (Oceanside) • South Nassau's PET/CT Service (Oceanside)

Established in 2004, the CoC Outstanding Achievement Award is designed to recognize cancer programs that achieve excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients. A facility receives the award following an on-site evaluation by a physician surveyor, during which time the facility demonstrates a Commendation level of compliance with seven standards that represent the full scope of the cancer program (cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, clinical services, research, community outreach, quality improvement and outcomes reporting). Through an exclusive partnership with the American Cancer Society, the CoC provides the public with information on the resources, services, and cancer treatment experience for each CoC-accredited cancer program. This information is shared with the public on the ACS Web site.

The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer was founded in 1922. It is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive quality care. The CoC's core functions include setting standards for quality, multidisciplinary cancer patient care; surveying facilities to evaluate compliance with the CoC standards; collecting standardized, high-quality data from accredited facilities; and using the data to develop effective educational interventions to improve cancer care outcomes at the national, state, and local level.

South Nassau Communities Hospital is one of the region's largest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,000 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services. In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty and is the only hospital on Long Island with the Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® Perfexion radiosurgery technologies. South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons and is recognized as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.