Accreditation is important to a cancer center in many ways.

First and foremost being accredited

by an outside agency is a quality assurance process that ensures your facility is up to national
standards as compared to other likeminded centers. This quality assurance process is carried out
by a third party agency which looks at your facilities services and operations.1 Secondly having
outside accreditations shows patients that your facility has met certain standards and is
committed to safe and quality care. Lastly with patients having options and the ability to
research potential treatment centers, it is an advantage for facilities to be able and show their
dedication to patients by having achieved these accreditations.
At the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, we hold accreditations from The Joint Commission
(TJC) and American College of Radiology (ACR). The cancer center is also a recognized
clinical site for the following educational accrediting bodies, Joint Review Committee on
Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT), Commission on Accreditation of Medical
Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP) and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education (ACGME).
Through the ACR, the cancer center has achieved the Radiation Oncology Practice Accreditation
(ROPA). This accreditation provides radiation oncologists with third-party peer review and
evaluation of patient care, staff, equipment, treatment planning, treatment records, patient safety
policies, quality control and assessment.2
The TJC accredits hospitals and clinics nationwide ensuring a facility upholds a commitment to
continuous improvement in patient care.3 The cancer center is part of a larger hospital system
and is held to the same standards to achieve this accreditation. By seeing the certificate when
they first enter the department, it lets patients know that the facility is committed to providing
safe quality care.
JRCERT assures and improves the quality of higher education institutions and programs through
a voluntary system of self-examination and peer review. As of 2017, 7600 higher education
institutions and 23500 programs had achieved accreditation.4 The cancer center currently serves
as a recognized clinical site for the Medical Dosimetry Program through University of Wisconsin
Lacrosse and the Radiation Therapy Program through Bellarmine University.
CAMPEP accredits clinical residency educational programs in radiation oncology physics to
ensure that the residency program provides rigorous and thorough clinical education.5 We
currently accommodate two physics residents for the two-year residency program.
ACGME accredits residency and fellowship programs and is committed to improving the patient
care delivered by residents in clinical learning environments characterized by excellence in care,
safety, and professionalism.6 The cancer center currently can accommodate five medical
residents for their four-year program.

References:
1 Lenards N. Accreditation, Certification, & Professional Organizations. [SoftChalk]. La
Crosse, WI: UW-L Medical Dosimetry Program; 2017.
2 ACR American College of Radiology. Radiation Oncology.
https://www.acraccreditation.org/Modalities/Radiation-Oncology-Practice. Accessed September
21, 2020.
3 The Joint Commission. Accreditation and Certification.
https://www.jointcommission.org/accreditation-and-certification/become-accredited/what-is-
accreditation/. Accessed September 21, 2020.
4 Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology.
https://www.jrcert.org/students/value-of-accreditation/. Accessed September 21, 2020.
5 Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs.
https://www.campep.org/campeplstres.asp. Accessed September 21, 2020.
6 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. https://www.acgme.org/. Accessed
September 21, 2020.

*Note due to COVID delays, updated ACR certificate has not been received.