Lahey Hospital Earns Elite Designation

It's the first hospital in the country to be an accredited 'Lung Cancer Screening Center' by the American College of Radiology.

Lahey Health announced Tuesday that its flagship hospital, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, was the first institution in the United States to be designated an accredited Lung Cancer Screening Center by the American College of Radiology (ACR).

The hospital uses a multidisciplinary approach called Rescue Lung, which provides low-dose CT screenings at no cost to patients who meet high-risk criteria. So far, more than 2,000 patients have been scanned since the program began a little more than two years ago. At least 37 cases of lung cancer have been detected from those screenings, and a whopping 75 percent was discovered in the early stage.

“Lung cancer is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States,” said Andrea B. McKee, MD, chair of radiation oncology at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center’s Sophia Gordon Cancer Center. “We’re proud of the ACR Lung Cancer Screening designation because it validates the work we do every day to save lives through our Rescue Lung, Rescue Life early detection program.”

According to the press release:

The ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center designation is a voluntary program recognizing facilities that have committed to practicing safe, effective diagnostic care for individuals at the highest risk for lung cancer. In order to receive this elite distinction, facilities must be accredited by the ACR in computed tomography of the chest, undergo rigorous assessments of their lung cancer screening protocols and infrastructures, and have defined procedures in place for follow-up patient care, including counseling and smoking cessation programs.