Shaw Cancer Center receives 2019 Outstanding Achievement Award

Vail Health put out the following press release on a prestigious award won by the Shaw Cancer Center in Edwards:

Shaw Cancer Center’s reputation as a top cancer care facility was further reinforced as the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) granted its 2019 Outstanding Achievement Award to a select group of 49 accredited cancer programs throughout the United States, including Shaw. Award criteria were based on qualitative and quantitative surveys of cancer programs conducted throughout the year.

“We are honored and thrilled to receive this prestigious recognition from the CoC,” said Stacy Toyama, Vice President of Shaw Cancer Center. “Our team prioritizes high quality care and to have an esteemed organization acknowledge is an honor that furthers Shaw’s renowned reputation.” 

The purpose of the award is to raise the bar on quality cancer care, with the ultimate goal of increasing awareness about quality care choices among cancer patients and their loved ones. In addition, the award is intended to:

• Recognize those cancer programs that achieve excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients.
• Motivate other cancer programs to work toward improving their level of care.
• Facilitate dialogue between award recipients and health care professionals at other cancer facilities for the purpose of sharing best practices.
• Encourage honorees to serve as quality-care resources to other cancer programs.

“More and more, we’re finding that patients and their families want to know how the health care institutions in their communities compare with one another,” said Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, MACP, Chair of the CoC. “They want access to information in terms of who’s providing the best quality of care, and they want to know about overall patient outcomes. Through this recognition program, I’d like to think we’re playing a small but vital role in helping them make informed decisions on their cancer care.”

The 49 award-winning cancer care programs represent approximately seven percent of programs surveyed by the CoC January 1–December 31, 2019. 

“These cancer programs currently represent the best of the best when it comes to cancer care,” added Dr. Shulman. “Each of these facilities is not just meeting nationally recognized standards for the delivery of quality cancer care, they are exceeding them.”

Shaw Cancer Center is renowned for its cancer care, having received a gold accreditation from the Commission on Cancer, the highest level achievable by the survey, and also achieving its Quality Oncology Practice Initiative re-accreditation in 2019 through the American Society of Clinical Oncology.