Accreditation, Recertification for ETMC Facilities

TYLER — East Texas Medical Center facilities have received an accreditation and a recertification. The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has granted three-year accreditation with commendation to the cancer program at the ETMC Cancer Institute. ETMC received the reaccreditation following the on-site evaluation by a physician surveyor in May. The commission is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival rates and quality of life for cancer patients through education, standard-setting, prevention, research and monitoring the quality of cancer care.

In 1990, ETMC’s Cancer Institute was the first oncology program in East Texas to be certified, placing it among the elite hospitals in the nation with approved cancer programs. “We are very pleased to have this approval again because it’s only given to facilities that have voluntarily committed to providing the highest level of quality cancer care,” said Todd Sigmon, vice president of the ETMC Cancer Institute.

Also, ETMC Tyler’s stroke care program has been recertified as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations with a Gold Seal of Approval. ETMC Tyler was the first hospital in East Texas and one of the first in Texas to receive this designation in 2005 with recertifications in 2007 and 2009. ETMC voluntarily pursued this designation in part because of the alarming rate of stroke-related deaths in East Texas. The Joint Commission conducted an on-site review this spring to review compliance with national standards, clinical guidelines and outcomes of care.

“The East Texas region has one of the highest stroke rates in our state,” said Sigmon, who also serves as ETMC Neurological Institute vice president. “Since part of the effort to earn the certification includes a focus on stroke prevention, we believe it will help us meet our goal to help change that factor in our region.”