Chicago — Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center has become the first health care organization in the Chicagoland area
to earn accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer, a program of the American College of
Surgeons that recognizes excellence in rectal cancer care.
In order to earn this prestigious three-year accreditation, health care organizations must meet a rigorous set of standards
for program management, clinical services, and quality improvement. The standards were established to ensure accredited
organizations uphold the highest standards of care for patients diagnosed with rectal cancer.
Among them, organizations seeking this distinction must have a defined rectal cancer multidisciplinary team, composed
of specialists from surgery, pathology, radiology, medical oncology and radiation oncology, that meets regularly to discuss
patient cases. The standards also require organizations to offer comprehensive clinical services, ongoing provider
education and quality reporting.
“I am thrilled our organization is one of the first in the nation to achieve this national accreditation. This recognition is a
testament to the expertise, leadership and hard work of our rectal cancer team to ensure our patients receive quality care,”
says Susan Nordstrom Lopez, president of Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. “I’m proud that we can offer Chicago
the evidence-based, multidisciplinary care required to treat this challenging disease."
This national accreditation builds on Advocate Illinois Masonic’s commitment to providing comprehensive digestive health
and cancer services. In addition to offering multidisciplinary colorectal cancer services, the hospital also houses a direct
access screening program that offers consumers a more direct and seamless path to screening colonoscopies.
“Our mission to help people live well is what drives our commitment to deliver outstanding rectal cancer care. Our patients
deserve nothing less,” says Dr. Jan Kaminski, rectal cancer program director and rectal surgeon at Advocate Illinois Masonic
Medical Center. “I am proud of our rectal cancer team’s efforts to lead cancer care in the region. This accreditation will
elevate and set a new standard for rectal cancer care in Chicago and beyond.”
About Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center is part of Advocate Health Care (Advocate), the largest health system in Illinois
and one of the largest Accountable Care Organizations in the country. A national leader in population health management,
Advocate operates nearly 400 sites of care and 12 hospitals, including three of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals, the state's
largest integrated children's network, five Level I trauma centers (the state's highest designation in trauma care), three
Level II trauma centers, one of the area's largest home health and hospice companies and one of the region's largest
medical groups. Advocate trains more primary care physicians and residents at its four teaching hospitals than any other
health system in the state. As a not-for-profit, mission-based health system affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America and the United Church of Christ, Advocate contributed $692 million in charitable care and services to
communities across Chicagoland and Central Illinois in 2016. Advocate is part of Advocate Aurora Health, the 10th largest
not-for-profit, integrated health system in the United States. We help people live well. To learn more about Advocate Illinois
Masonic Medical Center, please visit us: www.advocatehealth.com/immc.