The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center has successfully attained accreditation for its radiation oncology services from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) APEx - Accreditation Program for Excellence. This accreditation is effective until March 2028.
"We are pleased to receive APEx accreditation from ASTRO, the largest radiation oncology society in the world," said Zoneddy Dayao, MD, Deputy Director for Clinical Operations at UNM Cancer Center. "Our radiation oncology team, under the leadership of Dr. David Lee, Director of Radiation Oncology, and Patricia Sansourekidou, Director of Medical Physics, was invested in evaluating our processes to meet ASTRO's high standards for safety and quality. Achieving APEx accreditation shows our local community that we are dedicated to delivering consistently safe patient-centered cancer care."
APEx is a voluntary and rigorous multi-step process during which a radiation oncology practice is evaluated using consensus-based standards. The practice must demonstrate its safety and quality processes and show adherence to patient-centered care by promoting effective communication, coordinated treatments, and strong patient engagement.
"ASTRO commends UNM Cancer Center for achieving APEx accreditation," said Jeff M. Michalski, MD, MBA, FASTRO, chair of the ASTRO Board of Directors. "By undergoing this comprehensive review, the facility demonstrated their strong commitment to delivering safe, high-quality radiation oncology services to their patients."
APEx includes a self-assessment phase allowing practices to internally assess compliance with quality improvement standards before proceeding to an external review by a surveyor team comprising a radiation oncologist and a medical physicist. To date, more than 300 U.S. facilities have earned APEx accreditation.
The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center serves as the Official Cancer Center of New Mexico and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated center within a 500-mile radius. It employs over 136 board-certified oncology specialty physicians across various disciplines and collaborates with more than 600 other healthcare professionals.
The center treated nearly 15,000 patients in over 100,000 ambulatory clinic visits last year. Additionally, it enrolled approximately 1,855 patients in clinical trials testing new cancer treatments.
UNMCCC’s research endeavors include work by over 123 cancer research scientists who secured $38.2 million in federal and private grants since 2015. They have published nearly 1,000 manuscripts and filed 136 new patents while launching ten biotechnology start-up companies.
Furthermore, UNMCCC provides education and training experiences to over 500 students ranging from high school through postdoctoral fellowship levels in cancer research and healthcare delivery.
