Wellstar Kennestone Hospital has earned a three-year accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons. This accreditation demonstrates Wellstar’s commitment to providing personalized, high-quality cancer care close to home for patients in Georgia.
To achieve voluntary NAPRC accreditation, a rectal center must demonstrate compliance with the NAPRC standards addressing program management, clinical services and quality improvement for patients. Centers are required to establish a multidisciplinary rectal cancer team that includes clinical representatives from surgery, pathology, radiology, radiation oncology and medical oncology.
At Wellstar, rectal cancer patients have a multidisciplinary team on their side through every step of treatment. Each patient works with a nurse navigator to schedule appointments with specialists. Patients meet with a medical oncologist, as well as a surgical oncologist or colorectal surgeon. Imaging and lab tests are reviewed by a multidisciplinary board of rectal cancer physicians, efficiently providing patients with input from several experts in cancer care. During the course of treatment, that multidisciplinary board will continue to follow the patient and discuss the best next steps, tailoring care to fit each patient’s individual needs.
Additionally, the program at Kennestone met standards addressing the clinical services that the rectal cancer program provides, including Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA testing), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computerized Tomography (CT) imaging for cancer staging, which allow patients to start treatment within a defined timeframe. Rectal cancer programs accredited by the NAPRC undergo a site visit every three years and are also accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.
“Our patients are surrounded by a team of experienced rectal cancer experts who provide the highest level of personalized care,” said Wellstar Surgical Oncologist Dr. Sahir Shroff, who serves as the rectal cancer program chair. “We are proud to be the first medical center in metro Atlanta to receive this important accreditation. Our pioneering efforts to adhere to the most rigorous standards and combine the latest technologies and techniques help us achieve excellence in rectal cancer care for our patients.”
Accreditation by the NAPRC is granted only to those programs that are committed to providing the best possible care to patients with rectal cancer. The NAPRC provides the structure and resources to develop and operate a high-quality rectal center. Accredited programs follow a model for organizing and managing a rectal center to ensure multidisciplinary, integrated, comprehensive rectal cancer services.
