VCU news

By Jenny Owen
VCU Massey Cancer Center

The inpatient bone marrow transplant (BMT) unit at VCU Massey Cancer Center is the first of its kind in the nation to earn the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Beacon Award for Excellence.  A BMT is a procedure that replaces damaged or destroyed bone marrow with healthy bone marrow stem cells in the treatment of blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma and other blood and immune disorders.

Massey’s BMT unit underwent an application process to satisfy the AACN’s specific standards, which focus on excellence in leadership structures and systems, appropriate staffing and staff engagement, effective communication, knowledge of management and best practices, evidence-based practice and processes, and patient outcomes.  

The AACN Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes individual units that distinguish themselves by improving every facet of patient care. This highly regarded award is a significant achievement for a hospital unit and signifies a commitment to patient safety and satisfaction. The Massey BMT unit was a silver-level recipient, representing continuous learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care.

“In achieving this award, Massey’s BMT unit has demonstrated its commitment to providing quality, compassionate care for our patients,” says John M. McCarty, M.D., medical director of the BMT program at Massey.  “This award affirms the excellence of our nursing team.”

The BMT unit is an integral part of Massey’s BMT program, which also offers an outpatient clinic and conducts cutting-edge research and innovative clinical trials. Massey’s BMT program is the largest comprehensive BMT provider in Virginia, and its successful patient outcomes have placed it among the leading programs in the country. The program offers expertise in pediatric and adult stem cell transplants and bone marrow harvests from all available sources. Additionally, the program’s research and clinical trials bring forth promising new treatments, advanced technologies, improved standards of care, expanded curative options and safer transplants. Accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), the Massey BMT program is a National Marrow Donor program and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Blue Distinction Center.

For more information about the BMT program at Massey, visit http://www.massey.vcu.edu/bone-marrow-transplant.htm.