Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Earns National Accreditation from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons

New Brunswick, N.J., October 4, 2022 –  The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), has granted Three-Year Accreditation to the cancer program at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

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. 

RWJUH and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey take 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.  This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care. 

Earlier this year, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey received the highest score in New Jersey from U.S. News & World Report in the Adult Specialty category for cancer, earning a High Performing rating.  Rutgers Cancer Institute together with RWJBarnabas Health is at the forefront of cancer research and care and will soon be home to the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, New Jersey’s only freestanding cancer hospital, slated to open in 2024 in New Brunswick.

“Earning this prestigious accreditation again is the direct result of the collaboration that exists among clinicians and researchers at RWJUH and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey,” said Bill Arnold, President and Chief Executive Officer of RWJUH. “Together, we deliver evidence-based medicine and clinical research to the residents of our state and region through advanced cancer therapies, the latest technologies, and access to clinical trials, many of which are not available elsewhere. With the completion of the state-of-the-art Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center in 2024, the hope and help that we can provide patients will continue to expand.”

“The awarding of this reaccreditation by the Commission on Cancer reaffirms the value our cancer program provides to our state and beyond through groundbreaking cancer treatments, innovative technology, state-of-the-art research, prevention and education,” notes Rutgers Cancer Institute Director Steven K. Libutti, MD, FACS, who is also the senior vice president of oncology services at RWJBarnabas Health. “The communities we serve can be assured that Rutgers Cancer Institute and RWJBarnabas Health will continue our team effort in providing world-class cancer care close to home.”

The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for RWJUH to improve its quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs that focus on the full spectrum of cancer care including prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease, and end-of-life care.  When patients receive care at a CoC facility, they also have access to information on clinical trials and new treatments, genetic counseling, and patient centered services including psycho-social support, a patient navigation process, and a survivorship care plan that documents the care each patient receives and seeks to improve cancer survivors’ quality of life.  

Like all CoC-accredited facilities, RWJUH maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society.  This nationwide oncology outcomes database is the largest clinical disease registry in the world.  Data on all types of cancer are tracked and analyzed through the NCDB and used to explore trends in cancer care.  CoC-accredited cancer centers, in turn, have access to information derived from this type of data analysis, which is used to create national, regional, and state benchmark reports.  These reports help CoC facilities with their quality improvement efforts.  

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 1.9 million cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2022. There are currently more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed patients with cancer.    When cancer patients choose to seek care locally at a CoC-accredited cancer center, they are gaining access to comprehensive, state-of-the-art cancer care close to home. The CoC provides the public with information on the resources, services, and cancer treatment experience for each CoC-accredited cancer program through the CoC Hospital Locator at https://www.facs.org/search/cancer-programs.

Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the CoC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving patient outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive, quality care.  Its membership includes Fellows of the American College of Surgeons.  For more information, visit: www.facs.org/cancer

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About Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey As New Jersey’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rutgers Cancer Institute, together with RWJBarnabas Health, offers the most advanced cancer treatment options including bone marrow transplantation, proton therapy, CAR T-cell therapy and complex surgical procedures.  Along with clinical trials and novel therapeutics such as precision medicine and immunotherapy – many of which are not widely available – patients have access to these cutting-edge therapies at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey at University Hospital in Newark, as well as through RWJBarnabas Health facilities. To make a tax-deductible gift to support the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, call 848-932-8013 or visit www.cinj.org/giving.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) New Brunswick, a 614-bed RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is New Jersey’s largest academic medical center through its deep partnership with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. RWJUH is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Its other Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, bariatric surgery and women’s and children’s care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org).  A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH’s New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness. Learn more at www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick.