Intermountain St. Mary’s Medical Center Earns Cancer Accreditation

The radiation oncology program at Intermountain St. Mary’s Medical Center Cancer Centers of Colorado and St. Mary’s Breast Care Center at Pavilion Imaging have earned national accreditations for delivering excellent quality care.

The American Society for Radiation Oncology Accreditation Program for Excellence (APEX) has accredited the radiation oncology program, validating that the program delivers high-quality patient care.

Only 200 facilities nationwide have earned the APEx accreditation. St. Mary’s first received the accreditation in 2018 and was reaccredited this year.

APEx is an external, voluntary process during which a radiation oncology practice is evaluated using consensus-based standards. Each cancer center must show its safety and quality process and show that it adheres to patient-centered care through effective communication, coordinated treatments and strong patient engagement.

The national accreditation also recognizes that the program’s patients can access the most advanced cancer care delivered with compassion and coordination in a personalized approach from a diverse team of experts.

Separately, the Breast Care Center earned accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers of the American College of Surgeons. To receive this accreditation, a breast center must show compliance with the program’s standards that focus on leadership, clinical services, research, community outreach, professional education and quality improvement. Breast centers seeking accreditation undergo a site visit every three years.

As an accredited center, St. Mary’s Breast Care Center is committed to maintaining levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive, patient-centered care that results in high-quality care for patients with breast disease. Patients receiving care at an accredited center also have access to information on clinical trials and new treatment options, genetic counseling and patient-centered services including psychosocial support, rehabilitation services and survivorship care.

St. Mary’s Cancer Center is a Commission on Cancer-accredited cancer program meaning the American College of Surgeons has reviewed the program and determined it has standards to ensure quality, multidisciplinary and comprehensive cancer care.

St. Mary’s joins Intermountain Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge, Colo., in holding these three accreditations. Both hospitals are part of SCL Health, now Intermountain Health.

“These accreditations show our commitment to providing comprehensive, high-quality services to deliver care when needed to area residents close to where they live. We truly live our mission of providing compassionate care close to home,” said Kevin Dryanski, Director of Oncology Service Line and Laboratory Services at St. Mary’s.

For more information, visit www.facs.org/quality-programs/napbc.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 34 hospitals, 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.