VGH cancer care among top community cancer centers in state, says commission
When Valley General Hospital set out to provide cancer care to local people, the team set their sights high. Not only did they want to provide quality care, they wanted to provide some of the best community cancer care in the state. Last week, they learned they had succeeded.
The Commission on Cancer, a national organization that monitors cancer care, awarded Valley General Hospital certification with commendation, it's highest honor, which it has only bestowed on three state hospitals in the last three years.
"The program first became a reality in 2002 and we started to grow gradually," said Theresa Hayden, Cancer Registrar at VGH. "In 2004 we started to put things in place to become nationally approved. You have to have two years behind you before they'll even come out and look at you."
Even then, the commission can refuse to evaluate. "They came out in 2007 and looked to see if we were ready to go through the process," said Hayden. "We were, so someone came out in March."
The commission examined the program for leadership, data management, research, community outreach, professional education and staff support and many other things. Of 36 established standards of care, all were met by VGH. That makes VGH one of just three state hospitals, including Swedish Hospital in Seattle in 2005 and Valley Hospital and Medical Center in Spokane in 2006, to get perfect marks in recent years.
For the accomplishment, VGH will get the Commission on Cancer's Outstanding Achievement award in 2009.
The idea to put cancer care in VGH sprang from community surveys completed in 2001, said Brenda Rogers, Associate Administrator and Chief Nursing Executive. "Over and over again we heard that people wanted local cancer care," she said. "If you live locally and you have radiation or chemotherapy, you're pretty miserable, you don't want to spend a lot of time in your car."
VGH still can't do radiation, but chemotherapy is available.
For Glen Niemi, 41, the option to get local treatment came as a relief. "It's better, immensely," he said.
Diagnosed last April with an inoperable brain tumor following a massive seizure, the Sultan man began undergoing an aggressive series of twice-monthly chemotherapy treatments last year.
His mother, Thelma Niemi, of Snohomish, took him to appointments. "I said flat out, I didn't want to come to Seattle every time," she said. "I stressed we would prefer treatment in Monroe."
Although VGH is a much smaller hospital than the one in Seattle, Mrs. Niemi was pleased with the care her son received. "I'm really impressed with the medication he'd been getting," she said.
"It's not originally designed for that (type of cancer.) Dr. Congdon (head of VHG cancer care) said he'd only treated one ofther case with it."
The medication was successful: Friday, Niemi underwent his last treatment, and he appears to be in remission.
In fact, people who get treatment in Monroe rather than at larger, more distant hospitals, get care every bit as good and sometimes better, said Rogers. For example, VGH, like most hospitals that see cancer patients, has a tumor board that reviews a certain percentage of its cases each month.
On average, tumor boards review about 10% of their cases, said Rogers. But at VGH, the tumor board reviews as much as 40% of its cases, usually the more complex or unusual cases.
"It gives the patients multiple minds looking at their cases," she said. "Dr. Congdon (who last week was attending a major cancer conference in Chicago) picks the ones that are least cut and dried."
"Looking at the diagnosis, having that information, the board asks what is the right decision, why is it the right one?" said Hayden. "Occassionaly, they will re-present a case, and there will be a challenge, and we may reconsider our plan."
Hayden maintains an ever-changing database of hundreds of medications and combinations to treat different kids of cancer, she said, and all of those medications are available to their patients.
The combination of small hospital and state-of-the-art treatment means the best of both worlds for patients, staff members said.
"We're doing big city, high-tech stuff in a place with a strong sense of community," said oncology nurse Gale Coates, who has been with the program since its inception.
The recognition from the Commission on Cancer just validates something they already knew; that they have a great team," said staff members.
"Everyone here is utterly passionate about being that good, about being a team," said Hayden
"It's the most amazing group of people I've ever worked with, and I've been doing this 20 years," said Rogers.
Back to main page
.