PHILADELPHIA (September 28, 2012)—Fox Chase Cancer Center has been selected by the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC)—the leading national multidisciplinary organization that sets the standard for quality care for patients with cancer—to receive a 2012 ACCC Innovator Award, sponsored by GE Healthcare. The award, which will be given at the ACCC 29th National Oncology Conference in early October, honors ACCC-member cancer programs that have exhibited forward-thinking strategic planning and developed pioneering programs and replicable models.
Only eight cancer programs nationwide were selected to receive a 2012 ACCC Innovator Award. Fox Chase was selected for its new approaches to maximize patient flow and reduce inpatient hospital length of stay. Two multidisciplinary teams worked in tandem to consolidate manual systems, implement bed management software, address multiple operational process improvements, and reduce inpatient hospital length of stay. The program promoted a culture of accountability through employee engagement in project work and outcome measurement.
“It is an honor for our team to be recognized by the ACCC,” says Anne Jadwin, RN, MSN, AOCN, NE-BC, vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer at Fox Chase. “Leading the bed management initiatives at Fox Chase was a true interdisciplinary effort, and one based on industry best practices. Our multi-strategy approach, within the construct of a multidisciplinary team, has enhanced patient flow and reduced hospital length of stay.”
At Fox Chase an integration team studied numerous evidence-based and best practices to enhance efficiency of admission, discharge, and teaching processes; appropriate and timely bed placement; staff communication; data collection; and patient flow. Several strategies were implemented and variance analysis tracking tools enabled the institution to become more data-driven in its approach to managing patient flow, reducing hospital length of stay, and improving bed availability for cancer patients.
Both ACCC and GE Healthcare will highlight Fox Chase’s innovative program to oncology care providers as well as to the broader healthcare community across the country. The commitment to helping clinicians improve care for patients with cancer is shared by ACCC and GE. GE Healthcare’s sponsorship of the ACCC Innovator Awards will help catalyze cancer innovation in the community setting.
Since 1974, the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) has served as the leading national multidisciplinary organization that sets the standard for quality care for patients with cancer. ACCC is dedicated to promoting professional learning opportunities and to providing a forum for members to network and enhance their skills in the business, clinical and management aspects of care for the cancer community. More than 17,000 cancer care professionals from approximately 900 hospitals and more than 1,200 private practices are affiliated with ACCC. ACCC’s unique membership includes all members of the cancer care team: medical and radiation oncologists, surgeons, cancer program administrators and medical directors, pharmacists, oncology nurses, oncology social workers, and cancer program data managers. For more information, visit ACCC’s website at www.accc-cancer.org, Facebook, Twitter, and on ACCC’s blog, ACCCBuzz, at www.acccbuzz.wordpress.com.
GE Healthcare offers a wide portfolio for oncology and a strategy that combines cellular research, medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, and information technology. These innovative technologies help the oncology community increase their understanding of the causes and progression of cancer and can help physicians make more personalized cancer treatment and management decisions. Recently, GE launched a global healthymagination commitment to help deliver better care to 10 million patients by 2020 through $1 billion in dedicated R&D investment aimed at accelerating cancer treatment progress through innovation.