Lafayette General Medical Center Named One of America’s Best in Cancer Care

Lafayette General Medical Center (LGMC) has won a Women’s Choice Award® for being One of America’s Best Hospitals for Cancer Care. Earning this seal of approval signifies LGMC’s commitment and passion towards an extraordinary healthcare experience for patients, especially women. With this award, LGMC joins an elite network of hospitals committed to a global mission of empowering women to make smart healthcare choices.

“This is a tremendous honor for our hospital,” says LGMC CEO Patrick W. Gandy, Jr. “At Cancer Center of Acadiana, our patients are at the center of everything we do. So, it’s a tribute to our physicians and staff that those receiving our care recognize that dedication.”

In a recent study by TalentInnovation.org, it was found that women are tasked with making 94% of all healthcare decisions, yet they lack trust in their healthcare system. “Now more than ever, the seal of the Women’s Choice Award serves as a validation to women that they are selecting the best hospitals for their own care and that of their family,” said Sharyn S. Lee, RN, MS, FACEHP, President of the Women’s Choice Healthcare Division.

While the overall odds are that two out of three women will never get cancer, over 800,000 women were diagnosed with cancer in 2014. The most common cancers for women were breast cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer (Everyday Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015).

LGMC is among the elite group of 331 hospitals who have earned the 2015 Women’s Choice Award by meeting the highest cancer care accreditation standards of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. LGMC was awarded for excellence in clinical performance with regard to patient safety measures, and its high recommendation rate, a measure very important to women choosing a hospital.

Studies show that each dissatisfied patient will inform up to 10 other people of their dissatisfaction (Health Administration Press). This further exemplifies the importance of keeping as many people satisfied with their care as possible.

“Women have many choices when it comes to cancer care, but now they can make informed choices based on rigorous evidence-based criteria. As a cancer survivor who faced a challenging journey to recovery, I wish I had the Women’s Choice Award as a resource to spare me unnecessary fret and error,” said Delia Passi, Founder and CEO of the Women’s Choice Award. “When faced with cancer you owe it to yourself and your family to get the best treatment,” adds Passi.

According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, the U.S is undergoing a “paradigm shift in health-related thinking, from an emphasis on disease to an emphasis on the patient” (2014). This study suggests that health care’s two goals are to help people live a longer life and to enhance quality of life (American College of Emergency Physicians).