5 SIGNS OF TOP
CANCER CARE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE DESIGNATION REQUIRES HIGH STANDARDS.
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umerous healthcare institutions across New Jersey provide cancer care. But only one— Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey— has achieved the prestigious designation of a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). That’s significant for patients at every RWJBarnabas Health (RWJBH) hospital, including Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) and Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus (MMCSC). RWJBH, together with Rutgers Cancer Institute, provides closeto-home access to advanced cancer care including clinical trials, many of which are not available elsewhere. “Being a H. RICHARD ALEXANDER, JR., MD, FACS Comprehensive Healthy Together
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Cancer Center is the highest and most rigorous designation that can be achieved and awarded by the National Cancer Institute,” says H. Richard Alexander, Jr., MD, FACS, Chief Surgical Officer and Chief, Surgical Oncology, Rutgers Cancer Institute. “It indicates that Rutgers Cancer Institute meets a number of significant expectations around the depth and breadth of our cancer programs that will result in the best possible outcomes for the populations we serve.” Those high expectations carry to MMC, MMCSC and other RWJBH hospitals where the partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute allows facilities easy access to providers both in person and through technologyenabled remote consultations that extend the reach of care. “Our ability to deliver easier and more efficient access to quality care closer to where
people live reduces the amount of unnecessary or long travel that patients and loved ones have to undergo and elevates standards of care locally,” says Dr. Alexander, who also is Regional Director of Surgery for Monmouth Medical Center, a role with broad responsibility for strategic planning and coordination of surgical services at MMC and other RWJBH facilities. What does designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center mean to you? Dr. Alexander points to several key benefits.
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HIGH-LEVEL PHYSICIAN EXPERTISE
To be designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the NCI requires the highest level of achievement in several areas: laboratory research, clinical research, population science research, cancer prevention and
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