San Rafael

The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has granted three-year accreditation to the Kaiser Permanente San Rafael cancer program.

The Commission on Cancer (CoC) is dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring
of comprehensive quality care. To earn CoC accreditation, hospital cancer programs must meet 34 quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process, and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive, patient-centered cancer care.

San Rafael Medical Center has been designated as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Program, which means it cares for 500 or more newly diagnosed cancer cases each year, provides a full range of diagnostic and treatment services, and participates in cancer-related clinical research.

CoC-accredited cancer centers must also demonstrate a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases. This requires consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists.

“This accreditation follows several years of dedicated work by a highly skilled, multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, and staff,” said Naveen Kumar, MD, Physician-in-Chief, Kaiser Permanente San Rafael. “We are very proud of the team’s success in meeting or exceeding rigorous quality standards set by the Commission on Cancer.”

When patients receive care at a CoC-accredited facility, they also have access to information on clinical trials and new treatments, genetic counseling, and patient-centered services—including psycho-social support, a patient navigation process, and a survivorship care plan that documents each patient’s care and seeks to improve cancer survivors’ quality of life.

“Earning this accreditation means that our patients and their loved ones who face a cancer diagnosis are assured of receiving the most advanced cancer care available, from skilled and compassionate professionals,” said Judy Coffey, RN, Senior Vice President & Area Manager for Kaiser Permanente Marin-Sonoma. “Providing this kind of exceptional care enhances the health of our entire community.”

“We are proud to have the great care we provide in our new Cancer Center on Las Gallinas in San Rafael confirmed with CoC accreditation,” added Pat Kendall, RN, Medical Group Administrator and Cancer Program Administrator at San Rafael Medical Center. “And we are committed to providing this recognized excellence for our community, along with Marin General Hospital.”

The CoC was established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons as a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving patient outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive, quality care. Its membership includes Fellows of the American College of Surgeons.  For more information, visit: www.facs.org/cancer

Kaiser Permanente offers members many options for connecting with their doctors, including convenient video visit appointments. Video visits helped the Fegraus family through an unfortunate accident with nine-month-old Emma that turned the family’s life upside-down.

It was an unfortunate accident that turned the Fegraus family’s life upside-down. Over breakfast one morning, nine-month old Emma accidentally pulled a cup full of scalding hot tea onto her chest and lap. “I was terrified,” said her mother, Laura.

Emma was rushed to the emergency room at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center, where, thankfully, her injuries were deemed non-life threatening. As soon as she was discharged the next morning, Emma’s pediatrician,Richard Dow, MD, quickly made arrangements for renowned burn specialist, Clyde Ikeda, MD based at Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center to care for her in the crucial days following the accident.

On the first trip from their home in San Rafael to see Dr. Ikeda, the Fegraus family quickly realized how time-consuming it would be to meet with Dr. Ikeda for all of Emma’s follow-up appointments. “It was stressful because we had an infant with an injury in the car,” said Laura.

Read the full story on the Kaiser Permanente Cares website.
http://kaiserpermanentecarestories.org/emmafegraus/

Early Wednesday morning, staff at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Rafael will begin moving patients from the hospital’s existing emergency department to a new, much larger area that opens for business Wednesday. Three years ago, doctors and nurses at the San Rafael medical center implemented new procedures aimed at cutting the waiting time of visitors to the emergency department.

Three years ago, doctors and nurses at the San Rafael medical center implemented new procedures aimed at cutting the waiting time of visitors to the emergency department.

Patricia Kendall, Kaiser medical group administrator, said the new emergency department was tailor-made to facilitate this objective.

“We’re really looking forward to employing the new concept in the new space because we think it will make a big difference,” Kendall said.

The new 17,550-square-foot emergency department, built in a demolished portion of the hospital’s general services building, is approximately three times larger that the existing emergency department. It has two rooms for treating trauma patients, instead of one, and 18 medical treatment stations.

Dr. Gary Mizono, Kaiser physician-in-chief, said all the rooms in the new emergency department will be considerably larger, giving staff the space it needs to improve patient care.

The new facility will also feature rooms near the waiting area, where doctors will move quickly to treat minor complaints such as a rash. These rooms will allow patients to be treated and discharged without being moved into the treatment stations.

Read the full article on the Marin IJ website.
http://www.marinij.com/article/NO/20150518/NEWS/150519798

Armando Topete of San Anselmo wore a smile of relief Saturday morning — even though he awaited being poked and prodded by the medical team down the hall.