Annapolis, MD / PRWeb / April 09, 2013 – Preventing Colorectal Cancer (PCC) announces that Safeway, Inc. will be the recipient of the 2013 PCC Champion Award of Colon Cancer Prevention, an honor the not-for-profit organization established in 2011 to recognize individuals, groups and companies that provide either exceptionally high standards of care or that most effectively advocate for the prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer.

Safeway was selected as this year’s honoree for its corporate-wide efforts to advocate colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among its employees.  The clinical and financial benefits of a colonoscopy are well supported in the health care industry as a reliable screening tool to reduce the incidence of colon cancer.

“On behalf of PCC, we are extremely pleased to honor Safeway with the 2013 Champion Award for providing the corporate leadership to empower its employees to undergo potentially life-saving screening procedures such as colonoscopy,” says Dr. Steven J. Morris, MD, FACP, PCC board chair and president, Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates.  “A pioneer in the fight to bring greater transparency to health care, Safeway is encouraging its employees to make value-based decisions that positively affect the cost of health care benefits.”

“Safeway is honored to be recognized as a strong supporter of colorectal cancer screening,” says Kent Bradley, MD, Safeway’s chief medical officer. “Our value-based benefit design recognized several years ago the importance of providing effective preventive screenings, like colonoscopies, as a service that should be offered free to our health plan members who are at increased risk for colon cancer.”

PCC also recognizes Brett Bernstein, MD, medical director of Eastside Endoscopy, LLC, New York, NY, with an honorable mention in the individual category, and Arizona Digestive Health, Phoenix, AZ, in the group category.

Under Dr. Bernstein’s direction, Eastside Endoscopy has become a premier participant in data registries on a variety of quality measures used to measure physician and center performance against internal and national benchmarks.

In addition, Dr. Bernstein has fostered the development of Eastside Endoscopy’s Charity Care program, which reaches out to community-based organizations to provide free screening colonoscopies to uninsured communities.

Arizona Digestive Health has also received an honorable mention from PCC’s Champion Award Committee for the exemplary service it provides through its eight endoscopy centers accredited by the Accreditation Association of Ambulatory Health Care.

“The selection committee felt that Safeway, Inc., Dr. Bernstein and Arizona Digestive Health have gone above and beyond to promote colorectal cancer screenings in an effort to save lives,” says Stanford R. Plavin, MD, vice chair of PCC and president and managing partner, Ambulatory Anesthesia of Atlanta.  “Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in minority populations, and this year’s winner and honorable mentions have achieved results consistent with the highest national benchmarks while serving a very large community.”

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About Preventing Colorectal Cancer (www.preventingcolorectalcancer.org)

Headquartered in Annapolis, MD, Preventing Colorectal Cancer (PCC) preserves the tradition of safe, comfortable and quality-based medicine. PCC is a not-for-profit 501(c) 6 advocacy organization with the primary mission to educate both public and private stakeholders about the opportunities to reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer through promoting effective screening, prevention and care options for patients. Membership is open to all individuals and groups.