Fox Chase Cancer Center–Temple University Hospital BMT Program Receives Centers of Excellence Status

PHILADELPHIA (June 8, 2015) — The Fox Chase Cancer Center–Temple University Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program has recently earned the prestigious Centers of Excellence designation by OptumTM, a health services and innovation company that conducts rigorous evaluations of medical centers throughout the United States.

According to its website, Optum invites "only the most experienced and statistically successful health care providers to be part of our Centers of Excellence networks." The company develops its unique evaluation criteria in conjunction with a national panel of industry experts and practitioners. Each year, the company sends a survey to the medical centers and programs being considered for its Centers of Excellence networks. Upon receipt of a completed evaluation, Optum conducts a detailed analysis of the program's responses to both clinical and administrative components and compares the responses to evaluation criteria.

"Our team always strives for the highest standards of patient care and safety, so we are extremely proud of the BMT program's new Centers of Excellence designation," said Henry C. Fung, MD, FRCPE, vice chair of hematology at Fox Chase and director of the BMT program.

The Fox Chase Cancer Center–Temple University Hospital BMT Program has performed more than 1,500 transplants to date for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, aplastic anemia and other disorders. In 2000, Temple University Hospital's Bone Marrow Transplant Program relocated to the campus of Jeanes Hospital, a member of the Temple University Health System, in conjunction with a formal affiliation with Fox Chase Cancer Center (which is located adjacent to Jeanes).

Fox Chase Cancer Center (Fox Chase), which includes the Institute for Cancer Research and the American Oncologic Hospital and is a part of Temple Health, is one of the leading comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase was also among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1974. Fox Chase is also one of just 10 members of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are also routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has received the Magnet recognition for excellence six consecutive times. Today, Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research, with special programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship, and community outreach. It is the policy of Fox Chase Cancer Center that there shall be no exclusion from, or participation in, and no one denied the benefits of, the delivery of quality medical care on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, ancestry, color, national origin, physical ability, level of education, or source of payment.

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