John Muir Health’s Walnut Creek and Concord campuses have earned a three-year accreditation with commendation as a Network Cancer Program (NCP) from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC), a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients. John Muir Health is one of only two hospitals in California and the only one in the San Francisco Bay Area to receive the recognition.
“Our oncological services are built on John Muir Health’s tradition of providing leading-edge technology, excellent patient outcomes, and personalized, compassionate care,” said Brenda Carlson, Executive Director of Oncology Services, John Muir Health. “The Cancer Program accreditation is a tribute to the skilled and caring physicians, nurses, and staff whose commitment to outstanding patient care has earned this recognition.”
To earn the Cancer Program voluntary accreditation, John Muir Health was required to demonstrate its commitment to cancer patients by providing state-of-the-art medical imaging for screening and diagnosis, comprehensive lab services, outstanding surgical services, advanced radiation and chemotherapy, and multidisciplinary specialty teams that provide highly individualized patient care.
One of the innovative facets of the cancer program that John Muir Health offers to its patients is Nurse Navigators. “A Nurse Navigator is an Oncology Nurse with expertise in a certain cancer diagnosis and who is knowledgeable of the services in the Health System and the community,” said Vicki Rocconi, RN, OCN the Nurse Navigator for Breast Health Services and a cancer survivor. “We are available to assist patients through diagnosis, treatment and ongoing care. I am very fortunate to work for a health system that understands the various needs of our patients and provides this free service.”