Accreditations & Awards

Joint Commission

Commission on Cancer

Lake Charles Memorial Cancer Center Earned National Accreditation from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) grants accreditation to the cancer programs. To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet or exceed 34 CoC quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process, and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care. The CoC Accreditation:

• Challenges cancer programs to enhance the care they provide by addressing patient-centered needs and measuring the quality of the care they deliver against national standards.
• Provides value through improved patient outcomes across all domains of care: access and service, satisfaction and well-being, quality of care and cancer outcomes.
• Ensures dedication to providing the best in patient-centered care.

To learn more about this excellence measure, visit the Commission on Cancer.

American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) has recognized Lake Charles Memorial's GI Center for its clinical excellence, one of only seven honorees in Louisiana to receive this distinction. The ASGE recognition means that Memorial's expert gastroenterology clinical team has demonstrated the highest standards of commitment to safety and quality by meeting the program’s rigorous evidence-based tracking of physician clinical performance, patient outcomes, training, credentialing and infection control rates. Quality measures include key components critical to high quality gastrointestinal endoscopic patient care including adenoma detection rates, cecal intubation rate, adequacy of bowel preparation, patient satisfaction surveys, and adverse event tracking. Data is extracted and analyzed for continued performance improvement and better outcomes.

To learn more about this excellence measure, visit the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy www.asge.org.

The Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center

Lake Charles Memorial Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval^® and the American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Primary Stroke Certification. Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. The reviewers also conducted onsite observations and interviews.

The Joint Commission measured Memorial against national standards for the care of stroke patients including: door to CT scan time, how quickly patients received tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) – a clot-busting medication, how quickly patients are transferred who need clot retrieval procedures, and the quality of care administered within those time frames and through discharge. Memorial met these guideline standards thanks to the interdisciplinary team’s use and development of written care protocols, education programs, quality reviews and performance improvement activities across the health system.

To learn more about this excellence measure, visit The Joint Commission

American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Certification

Memorial's Heart & Vascular program is the first in the nation to be recognized by the American College of Cardiology for its demonstrated expertise and commitment in treating patients receiving transcatheter aortic valve repair and replacement procedures. The award is based on evaluation of the staff’s ability to meet standards for multidisciplinary teams, formalized training, shared decision-making and registry performance.

The ACC’s Transcatheter Valve Certification is an external review and certification process that pairs with established national clinical databases to monitor patient safety and real-world outcomes related to transcatheter valve therapies. Participation in established national clinical databases such as the STS/ACC TVT Registry is required for hospitals interested in achieving Transcatheter Valve Certification.

American Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery (AIMIS)

Lake Charles Memorial Hospital for Women is designated a Center of Excellence for minimally invasive surgeries by the American Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery (AIMIS). Memorial for Women has held this designation since 2013.

A hospital or surgical center can be recognized as a Center of Excellence once it has combined efforts with an accredited AIMIS surgeon and meets AMIS standards. Memorial for Women exceeds the national average for open versus minimally invasive hysterectomies.

AIMIS is the nation's pre-eminent educator of minimally invasive surgical techniques. The organization teaches minimally invasive methods, and also supports graduates and members with opportunities to find marketing support, consulting services and strategies to help them grow and strengthen their practices. AIMIS also provides resources for patients, corporate partners and physician members and affiliates to help foster progress throughout the medical profession.

Carechex Cancer Care Medical Excellence

In 2021, Lake Charles Memorial Hospital has been recognized as in one of the top 10% programs in the nation and tops in our market for Medical Excellence in Cancer Care. The award is from CareChex® — an information service of Quantros, Inc. CareChex is an innovative medical quality rating system designed to assist hospitals and health systems in improving the quality of inpatient care and promoting medical excellence to consumers, payers and employers.​​

The analysis by CareChex looks at patient safety, inpatient quality and measures of mortality, complications and readmission rates. Unlike other publicly available quality rankings, CareChex provides a composite evaluation of all components of medical quality including process of care, outcomes of care, and patient experiences. For access to provider quality ratings, visit www.CareChex.com.

National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification

Lake Charles Memorial Hospital for Women has been designated a Gold Safe Sleep Champion by the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program. It is the highest designation offered by the program. Memorial for Women is the first infant safe sleep certified hospital in Louisiana, and includes amazing community cooperation with the Calcasieu Parish Coroner’s Office.

Memorial for Women has demonstrated a commitment to community leadership for best practices and education on infant safe sleep through the development of a hospital policy, staff training, parent education, implementing a wearable blanket program, providing a safe sleep space to at risk families and a pledge to participate in ongoing audits and community outreach programs.

The National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program was created by Cribs for Kids and is endorsed by leading health and safety organizations. Its goal is to award recognition to hospitals that demonstrate a commitment to community leadership for best practices and education in infant sleep safety. By becoming certified, a hospital is demonstrating that it is committed to the mission of making babies as safe as possible in their sleep environments and eliminating as many sleep related deaths as possible.

The GIFT Breastfeeding Designation

Should you decide to breastfeed, our nurses are specially trained to enhance the breastfeeding experience while promoting the healthiest beginning for each baby. Memorial for Women has achieved Louisiana’s highest breastfeeding quality designation: The GIFT. This designation is awarded to birthing facilities in Louisiana that comply with the internationally recognized Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding of the WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.