Dr. Laurie Kirstein, a well-known breast cancer surgeon from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), has started a two-year role as the new chair of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commission on Cancer (CoC).
She was officially announced as the new leader on October 19 at the ACS Clinical Congress 2024 in San Francisco.
Dr. Kirstein is taking over from Dr. Timothy Mullett, who has been leading since 2020, while Dr. Daniel Boffa from Yale has joined her as vice-chair.
The CoC is a respected group of experts and organizations focused on helping cancer patients live longer and better lives.
They set high standards for cancer care, encourage research, and help cancer centers improve their services through accreditation.
Dr. Kirstein’s goal as chair is to spread these benefits even further, bringing more hospitals and treatment centers into the CoC network, especially in underserved places.
Her vision is to make CoC accreditation accessible to more hospitals across the U.S. and even internationally.
She’s especially interested in reaching areas where cancer centers need help meeting CoC’s standards, like some rural and inner-city areas.
Dr. Kirstein has been actively involved with the CoC for years, working on projects to improve education and address gaps in cancer care.
She’s now eager to make an even bigger difference as chair.
Currently, about 1,400 cancer centers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico are accredited by the CoC, and these centers treat or diagnose more than 74% of all new cancer cases each year.
Accredited programs gain access to CoC’s tools and data from the National Cancer Database (NCDB), a system that tracks cancer trends and outcomes nationwide.
These tools help facilities compare their care results to others and find ways to improve.
Once accredited, facilities also become ACS Surgical Quality Partners, which means they are committed to regularly reviewing and improving their care.
Dr. Kirstein believes that by using CoC’s high standards and the NCDB data, centers can find better ways to care for their patients.
She also wants to build stronger partnerships between cancer centers, community organizations, and others in the field.
She hopes to give patients even more support by connecting all these groups.
And Dr. Kirstein is no stranger to leadership.
She’s been an ACS Fellow since 2010 and has served in several important roles in the CoC, such as leading the Education Committee and organizing the education programs at the annual ACS Cancer Conference.
Not to mention, she led a project called Breaking Barriers to help cancer patients attend all their radiation treatments.
Currently, she’s leading studies on reducing pain without opioids after breast surgery and helping cancer patients quit smoking.
Recently, she received funding to create an online tool to help breast cancer patients understand their surgery choices.
While Dr. Kirstein is leading these changes, Englewood Health’s Lefcourt Family Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center in New Jersey also celebrated a major milestone.
The center renewed its CoC accreditation for another three years, which confirms that it meets the CoC’s high standards.
This facility has been CoC-accredited since 2014, and the renewal followed a thorough review.
In addition to its accreditation, the center was named an ACS Surgical Quality Partner, which shows its commitment to top-quality care.
Englewood’s cancer program includes a team of experts in various cancers, such as breast, lung, and colorectal, and provides all-around care, such as genetic counseling, support programs, nutrition advice, and more.
Their services reach northern New Jersey, bringing top-notch care closer to home for many patients.
Englewood Health, founded in 1890, is known as one of New Jersey’s leading healthcare providers.
It’s recognized for its safety and quality, with awards like an ‘A’ grade from Leapfrog for hospital safety and a Best Regional Hospital designation from U.S. News & World Report.
The Englewood Health network includes over 600 providers in more than 100 locations, offering primary care, specialty care, and urgent care.
They also focus on making healthcare accessible to everyone, especially underserved communities, through outreach and disease prevention programs.
With Dr. Kirstein leading the CoC and Englewood Health’s recent achievements, there is exciting progress in cancer care.
Dr. Kirstein is committed to making CoC accreditation more accessible and helping more centers reach these high standards.
Meanwhile, Englewood Health’s renewed accreditation and new recognition as a Surgical Quality Partner show that they’re dedicated to providing the best care.
Together, these efforts offer hope for improved cancer care nationwide, helping all patients get the support and treatment they need.
