WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (April 13, 2015) –White Plains Hospital has been designated a Lung Cancer Screening Center by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
The ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center designation recognizes facilities that have committed to practice safe, effective diagnostic care for individuals at the greatest risk for lung cancer.
In order to receive designation, facilities must be accredited by the ACR in computed tomography (CT scan) in the chest module, and must undergo a rigorous assessment of the facility’s lung cancer screening protocol and infrastructure. Additional requirements include having procedures in place for follow-up patient care, counseling and smoking cessation programs.
“We are honored to receive this designation from the ACR, which truly reflects the high quality of our lung cancer screening program,” says Cynthia Chin, MD, Principal Investigator for the Lung Cancer Screening Program Study and Thoracic Surgeon at White Plains Hospital. “The program has connected more than 200 individuals at risk for developing lung cancer with resources for early detection of disease and more favorable prognoses.”
Lung cancer is the nation’s leading cancer killer – taking the lives of more people each year than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. According to a study published in 2011 in the New England Journal of Medicine, lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography scans, and appropriate follow-up care, significantly reduces lung cancer deaths. In December 2013, the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended screening of adults aged 55 to 80 years who have a 30 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years. In February 2015, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Medicare would cover annual screenings (for Medicare beneficiaries who meet the criteria) for lung cancer with Low Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT).
The ACR, founded in 1924, is one of the largest and most influential medical associations in the United States. The ACR devotes its resources to making imaging and radiation therapy safe, effective and accessible to those who need it. Its 36,000 members include radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, interventional radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians.
For more information on White Plains Hospital’s Lung Cancer Screening and Nodule Center, visit: www.nylungscreeningnodulecenter.org.
For more information about the Lung Cancer Screening Center designation, visit: acr.org/Quality-Safety/Lung-Cancer-Screening-Center.
About White Plains Hospital
White Plains Hospital (WPH) is a 292-bed not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of providing exceptional acute and preventive medical care to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. Centers of Excellence include the Dickstein Cancer Center, The William & Sylvia Silberstein Neonatal & Maternity Center and The Ruth and Jerome A. Siegel Stroke Center. The Hospital’s Flanzer Emergency Department is the busiest in Westchester County, seeing over 55,000 visits a year. White Plains Hospital is the only community hospital in Westchester County to perform lifesaving emergency & elective angioplasty in its Joan and Alan Herfort, M.D. Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. The Hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission and earned its recognition as a Top Performer for Key Quality Measures® in 2013. The Hospital is also an eleven-time winner of the Consumer Choice Award, an honor given to the nation’s top hospitals by the National Research Corporation, and received Magnet® designation in 2012 from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). In 2014 White Plains Hospital received the Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades®, given to only 5% of hospitals nationwide. White Plains Hospital is a member of the Montefiore Health System. For additional information, visit http://www.wphospital.org.