PMC’s cancer care second to none
Hospital earns outstanding achievement award
By CASEY PRICE
For The Medical Leader
PIKEVILLE — Pikeville Medical Center has received the Commission on Cancer’s Outstanding Achievement Award for its cancer services.
The hospital is the only facility in Kentucky to earn the commission’s highest award.
Established in 2004, the award is designed to recognize cancer programs that strive for excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients.
Only 82 of the more than 1,400 accredited cancer facilities in the United States earned such recognition.
The award is given to facilities who receive commendation in at least six standards, which were reviewed by a physician surveyor during an on-site visit in November of last year.
The standards represent five areas of cancer program activity, including community outreach and quality improvement. PMC has earned the award since its inception.
“This was a joint effort with many departments throughout the hospital,” said Dr. Tamara Musgrave, Oncology and Infectious Disease Specialist.
“The Cancer Committee and its chair Dr. Mary Lyn Lu, The Cancer Case Conference, Cancer Registrar Leisa Hopkins, radiology, pathology, inpatient oncology staff, Leonard Lawson Cancer Center staff and doctors, and the residency program all played major roles in getting this award.”
To be eligible, the hospital must first be accredited with commendation by the Commission on Cancer, a task completed by only 37 percent of hospitals in Kentucky.
“This award recognizes a significant commitment by the personnel of PMC to provide higher quality cancer care,” said Walter E. May, chief executive officer of PMC.
“Pikeville Medical Center has exceeded the national standards set forth by the Commission on Cancer Accreditation program, and that is why we are the only hospital in the state to receive this award.”
