RWJ University Hospital Somerset’s Steeplechase Cancer Center Earns Accreditation from the Commission on Cancer

The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has granted Three-Year Accreditation as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center to the Steeplechase Cancer Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, a RWJBarnabas Health facility. To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet 34 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. The cancer center earned seven commendations – the maximum number of commendations - for clinical research accrual; cancer registrar education; public reporting outcomes; oncology nursing care; Rapid Quality Reporting System participation; and data submission.

Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer center, the Steeplechase Cancer Center takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases that requires consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists.

“Our team approach helps ensure that our patients are getting the very best care, including access to state-of-the-art technologies, minimally-invasive surgical procedures and the latest clinical trials as well as the support services patients need throughout their cancer journeys,” said Kathleen Toomey, MD, medical director of the Steeplechase Cancer Center. “We are proud that the quality of care we provide was recognized by the Commission on Cancer as meeting or exceeding all national standards.”

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the Steeplechase Cancer Center houses radiation therapy services, infusion therapy, breast imaging services, a clinical research team, a lung cancer screening program, smoking cessation services, oncology rehabilitation, oncologists’ and surgeons’ offices, complementary medicine services, nutritional counseling, patient navigator services, a patient resource library and the Sanofi US Wellness Boutique.

For more information about the Steeplechase Cancer Center, visit www.steeplechasecancercenter.com

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset

Located in Somerville, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, is a nationally accredited, 361-bed regional hospital providing comprehensive emergency, medical/surgical, behavioral health and rehabilitative services to central New Jersey residents. As a designated teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the hospital maintains a family medicine residency program with 21 residents.

RWJUH Somerset has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety including the prestigious Magnet® Award for Nursing Excellence and an “A” Hospital Safety Score from the Leapfrog Group. As the first hospital in New Jersey to offer primary health care services for the LGBTQIA community, RWJUH Somerset has been honored as a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign.

The Steeplechase Cancer at RWJUH Somerset, a clinical research affiliate of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, has been designated as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer.