New Milford, CT - New Milford Hospital has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in radiation oncology as the result of a recent and stringent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Radiation oncology (radiation therapy) is the careful use of high-energy radiation to treat cancer. A radiation oncologist may use radiation to cure cancer or to relieve a cancer patient’s pain.
The ACR-ASTRO seal of accreditation represents the highest level of quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting specific Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards developed by ACR and ASTRO after a peer-review by board certified radiation oncologists and medical physicists evaluating:
patient care and treatment
patient safety
personnel qualifications
adequacy of facility equipment
quality control procedures
quality assurance programs
The findings are reported to the ACT-ASTRO Committee on Radiation Oncology Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.
The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 34,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologist, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services. ASTRO is a professional organization serving more than 10,000 radiation oncologists, medical physicists and other health care professionals involved in the treatment of cancer patients.
ACR accreditation will be a mandatory requirement for radiation oncology centers in the coming years. However, in its’ effort to maintain the highest standard of care for patients and to remain ahead of the curve, the New Milford Hospital Regional Cancer Center opted to secure this accreditation prior to regulatory mandates. The radiation oncology program has been accredited by the ACR since 2001.
The radiation therapy program at the New Milford Hospital Cancer Center is continually working to provide the best, safest and most technologically advanced services to all of those patients served. Recently they became the first in New England to install a CIVCO Robotic Couch for Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT). The couch provides patients with improved precision throughout their radiation treatment.
The equipment is most beneficial in cases where tumors are near sensitive structures. Using sophisticated software, radiation therapists are able to enter coordinates to correct a patient’s position and then treat the affected areas with a high level of certainty.
For more information on the services at the New Milford Hospital Cancer Center visit our website at www.newmilfordhospital.org or call 1-800-350-1595.
