The prestigious ACR-ASTRO accreditation is awarded only to facilities meeting specific Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards developed by ACR and ASTRO after a rigorous peer-review evaluation by board-certified radiation oncologists and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Patient care and treatment, patient safety, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR-ASTRO Committee on Radiation Oncology Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report they can use for continuous practice improvement.
“For patients, referring physicians and managed care organizations, this accreditation is validation that only the highest quality care is being provided," said Edward Mullen, MD, director of radiation oncology and co-medical director of the Long Island Gamma Knife® at South Nassau. “The review process is extremely thorough, consisting of in-depth appraisals of our practice facilities, equipment, policies, procedures, staff and clinical treatment methods.”
The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 34,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services. ASTRO is a professional organization serving more than 10,000 radiation oncologists, medical physicists and other health care professionals involved in the treatment of cancer patients.
South Nassau’s Radiation Oncology Department is the only one on Long Island equipped with the Varian Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife®. The Novalis Tx is the medical industry’s most powerful radiation therapy technology and performs precise, image-guided treatments in a matter of minutes without needing to make a single incision. The Gamma Knife is a powerful radiosurgery tool that is the treatment of choice for deep-seated brain abnormalities, including tumors that would otherwise be considered inoperable.
As part of its advanced diagnostic and radiation oncology technologies and treatments, the department also includes South Nassau’s Center for Prostate Health (which is based in Oceanside). In addition to prostate brachytherapy, radiosurgery using the Novalis Tx, external beam radiation, hormone therapy and watchful waiting, the center also offers minimally-invasive, robotic assisted prostate cancer surgery performed by skilled surgeons who use the revolutionary Da Vinci robot surgical system. The center also provides comprehensive education and counseling for patients and their primary physicians in prostate cancer treatment.
To schedule a consultation or for more information about South Nassau’s Radiation Oncology Department or Cancer Program, call 516-632-3370, or visit southnassau.org.
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South Nassau Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than 900 physicians and 2,900 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-
