Valley Children’s ranks high in national cancer care program

Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera County has ranked among the top hospitals in the country for enrolling pediatric cancer patients into a therapeutic program through the Children’s Oncology Group.

Hospital officials said the hospital is in the top 4 percent in enrolling children in the program. The Children’s Oncology Group is the world’s largest organization devoted to childhood and adolescent cancer research. The hospital ranking was reported in the organization’s most recent review of more than 200 institutions in its membership.

The Cancer and Blood Diseases Center at Valley Children’s sees more than 120 new patients diagnosed with cancer each year. The hospital also provides the only Survivorship Program in Central California to help cancer survivors maintain good health in years to come.

Hospital officials said other superlatives have recently come Valley Children’s way:

Top worker: Alistair Robertson, a pediatric oncology social worker, was named social worker of the year by the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers.

Winners of the social worker award are selected by their own medical teams. Criteria for the award include practice, teamwork, resourcefulness, innovation and advocacy. Robertson is secretary of the organization’s board of directors.

Fibrosis recognition: Valley Children’s has been recognized as a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation-accredited center and is affiliated with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Center at Stanford Medical Center. The hospital also is a California Children’s Services-recognized Cystic Fibrosis Center and Home Ventilator Clinic. The hospital sees about 170 patients a year who voluntarily participate in a research project that compares their progress with patients at other recognized centers across the country.

This story was originally published May 5, 2016 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Valley Children’s ranks high in national cancer care program."