The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and My Four Hats

by Virginia T. Vaitones, MSW, OSW-C, ACCC Secretary

Here are my thoughts on Luana Lamkin’s blog regarding the new proposed standards that the Commission on Cancer has spent the last one-and-half years writing. My credentials: I’ve been involved in two of the work groups developing these new standards as well as the initial strategic planning that started this whole process.

That’s my first hat. As for my other three hats, I’m the clinical coordinator for a small cancer program in a rural hospital and the oncology social worker for the program. My fourth hat: I’m on the Board of Trustees for the Association of Community Cancer Centers.

Each day I read the ACCC listserve to find postings about the proposed standards.

• “How are we going to implement these changes?”
• “Where is our voice?”
• “Maybe my hospital will have to drop its accreditation.”
• “I’m glad the CoC is moving towards patient-centered care.”

I can tell you that no one that has been part of the development of the new standards wants a program to drop out. My observation is that a cultural shift is going on within the Commission on Cancer. We are moving from a focus on surgery to a focus on the whole patient—what their needs are throughout the continuum of care. Yes, the COC is asking our programs to stretch, but our patients are demanding that we address their physical, psychosocial, financial, and spiritual needs. If we cannot, then we need to know the resources that we can refer our patients too.

For many of these new standards there will be a phase-in period over a year or more. There will be webinars available to answer questions and give clear direction as to what will be expected of your program. We are also building a best practice repository so you can reference a subject and not have to reinvent the wheel.

So, back to my four hats: Each time we discussed a revised or new standard I would ask myself, can my hospital do this? Can I do this as a program administrator or oncology social worker?

I would say, “We can.”