The prestigious ACR accreditation is awarded only to facilities that prove during a rigorous peer-review evaluation that they meet specific Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards developed by the ACR.

1. News From:
For Immediate Release September 2, 2014
Contact: Damian Becker, Manager of Media Relations
(516) 377-5370
Radiation Oncology Department Awarded Prestigious Accreditation
Oceanside, N.Y. — The American College of Radiology (ACR) has renewed its three-year term of
accreditation of South Nassau Communities Hospital’s Radiation Oncology Department. The ACR seal of
accreditation represents the highest level of quality and patient safety in radiation therapy.
The prestigious ACR accreditation is awarded only to facilities that prove during a rigorous peer-review
evaluation that they meet specific Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards developed by the ACR. Patient
care and treatment, patient safety, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control
procedures, and quality assurance programs are assessed during the evaluation, which is conducted by board-certified
radiation oncologists and medical physicists who are experts in the field. The findings are reported to the
ACR Committee on Radiation Oncology Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a
comprehensive report they can use for continuous improvement.
“The renewal of ACR accreditation is validation to our patients, referring physicians and managed care
organizations that providing the highest quality care is an enduring mission at South Nassau," 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 thorough and rigorous, including detailed 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.
South Nassau’s Radiation Oncology Department is the only one on Long Island equipped with the Varian
Novalis Tx™ and the Gamma Knife® Perfexion radio surgery technologies. 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.

2. 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 robotic 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.
Designated a Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), South Nassau®
Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,000
employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that
provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and
emergency services. In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau provides emergency
and elective angioplasty, and is the only hospital on Long Island with the Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife®
radiosurgery technologies. South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of
Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons and is an accredited
center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program. In addition, the
hospital has been awarded the Joint Commission’s gold seal of approval as a Top Performer on Key Quality
Measures, including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care; and disease-specific care for hip and
joint replacement, wound care and end-stage renal disease. For more information, visit www.southnassau.org.
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