Benson Cancer Center Earns National Re-Accreditation with Commendation from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons

The Gayle and Tom Benson Cancer Center at Ochsner Medical Center (Benson Cancer Center) has again been granted Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation from The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet or exceed the CoC quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process 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. Benson Cancer Center has been continuously CoC-accredited since 1986.

The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for Benson Cancer Center to improve its quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs that focus on the full spectrum of cancer care including prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease and end-of-life care. When patients receive care at Benson Cancer Center, they also have access to information on clinical trials and new treatments through the Ochsner Precision Cancer Therapies Program, genetic counseling and patient centered services including psycho-social support, a patient navigation process and a survivorship care plan that documents the care each patient receives and seeks to improve cancer survivors’ quality of life.

"Our Commission on Cancer re-accreditation is a testament to our multidisciplinary approach, which includes the collaboration of surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, other cancer specialists as well as numerous ancillary services," said Brian Moore, MD, FACS, Director, Ochsner Cancer Institute. "I am extremely proud of the effort made by each member of our staff who work together every day to achieve the best outcomes for our patients.”

The Benson Cancer Center is currently undergoing a $48 million addition, including a $20 million gift from the Bensons, that will double its size, increasing capacity to offer more high-quality cancer services and advanced clinical research, making it one of the leading comprehensive destinations for cancer care across a multi-state region. The expansion is scheduled to be complete early next year.

Ochsner’s specialists treat more than 32,000 cancer patients annually, from all 50 states and 28 countries. In total, Ochsner has 11 cancer treatment facilities throughout the state and is committed to providing exceptional cancer care where its patients live, in large and small communities alike — including one of the largest multidisciplinary Neuroendocrine Tumor Programs in the U.S. at Ochsner Medical Center- Kenner, which attracts patients from around the globe, and a new hematology/oncology clinic at St. Charles Parish Hospital.

The Ochsner-Baton Rouge Cancer Center offers similar services to residents in its metro area, with many treatments available at local Ochsner clinics and complexes across Baton Rouge, including its newest facility-- the medical complex at The Grove in Baton Rouge. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 1.7 million cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2019, with 26,800 of those in Louisiana. There are currently more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, which diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients. When cancer patients choose to seek care locally at a CoC-accredited cancer center such as Benson Cancer Center, they are gaining access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art care close to home.

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 about cancer treatment at Ochsner, or to make an appointment, please visit www.ochsner.org/cancer.