American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable Awards Five Nationwide Partners in the Effort to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screenings

ATLANTA, March 5, 2024 – Raising colorectal cancer screening rates is more critical than ever as incidence grows among people younger than 55 years of age. Even more concerning are the findings in the American Cancer Society’s recent Cancer Facts & Figures, 2024 report that show colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in men and the second in women under 50 years old. 

Today, the American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (ACS NCCRT), founded in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , honored five organizations for their extraordinary work to increase colorectal cancer screening rates across the U.S. with the 2024 80% In Every Community National Achievement Award. 

“The call to increase colorectal cancer screening rates has never been more urgent than today and we applaud our honorees who have stepped up to help save lives,” said Steven Itzkowitz, MD, gastroenterologist with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and NCCRT chair. “We are proud of the work our honorees have done and will continue to do in the fight to reduce the incidence of and mortality from colorectal cancer.” 

According to the American Cancer Society, the number of colorectal cancers in the US for 2024 are estimated to be about 106,590 new cases of colon cancer (54,210 in men and 52,380 in women) and about 46,220  new cases of rectal cancer (27,330 in men and 18,890 in women). 

“As the number of new cases continues to rise, it is important to remember that colorectal cancer is treatable and beatable, especially when it is caught early,” said Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer for the American Cancer Society. “While there is a lot to do to increase screening rates for colorectal cancer, I’m grateful for the effort our honorees have made to close the gap nationwide.” 

The 80% in Every Community National Achievement Awards is a program designed to recognize individuals and organizations who are dedicating their time, talent, and expertise to advancing initiatives that support the shared goal to reach colorectal screening rates of 80% and higher in communities across the nation. The awards include one grand prize winner and four other honorees, each of whom receives a monetary award to support continued efforts to increase colorectal cancer screenings.  

This year’s recipients are The Southwest Coalition for Colorectal Cancer Screening (SuCCCeS) program, El Paso, Texas; Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Tallahassee, Florida; Unity Medical Center, Grafton and Park River, North Dakota;  Family Health Services, South Central, Idaho; Mikisha Longie, Belcourt, North Dakota. 

More details about this year’s recipients:  

Grand Prize Winner: The Southwest Coalition for Colorectal Cancer Screening (SuCCCeS) program 
Category: Cancer Program 

The SuCCCeS program is designed to reduce the rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) in El Paso, Texas, and the surrounding 56 counties. Based at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, SuCCCeS works in partnership with multiple community organizations and is supported by funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). The program serves a population of 2.56 million people who are primarily medically underserved, ethnically diverse, and located in rural and border communities. SuCCCeS focuses on sustainably engaging health care systems and community organizations to address barriers to reducing CRC disparities and funding screening. To date, SuCCCeS has distributed over 31,000 fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kits, with a return rate of 71%. SuCCCeS has scheduled over 800 high-risk screening and over 1100 diagnostic colonoscopies for patients with positive or abnormal FIT results, with a completion rate of 74%. SuCCCeS credits their high FIT return and follow-up colonoscopy completion rates to working within and listening to their community and being a resource for other partners. They are most proud of the cancers they have prevented or caught early with their work, which, as of January 2024, stands at 34 cancers diagnosed and over 1000 individuals with adenomatous polyps removed.   

Honoree: Florida Agency for Health Care Administration  

Category: State Government Agency  

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration contracts Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) to achieve high quality health outcomes for Floridians with low socioeconomic resources. In 2022, the baseline rate for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among Florida Medicaid MCO enrollees was 45%. The Agency sought to rapidly increase that rate and therefore created a new health care policy that incentivized MCOs through a point system designed with input from the American Cancer Society, Exact Sciences, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over nine months of biweekly meetings, the group of public-private partners used real time data to share progress and strategies to increase CRC screening, including new data flows, gap analyses with physicians, outreach methods and events, social and text messaging campaigns, celebrity promotions, and focus on disparate subpopulations. Nearly 40,000 Floridians were screened in a 9-month period, representing a 6% increase to 51% and totaled 85,000 Floridians up to date with CRC screening in 2023. The Agency is most proud of the synergy achieved from this public-private partnership, which depended on a willingness to rapidly change business practices, interactive communication, and ingenuity among data scientists, chief medical officers, quality directors, and outreach teams. 

Honoree: Unity Medical Center  

Category: Health System 

Unity Medical Center is a nonprofit critical access hospital with primary care clinics in Grafton and Park River, North Dakota, serving 20,000 people in Walsh County and the surrounding mainly rural areas. In October of 2022, Unity Medical Center developed an ambitious action plan to improve their colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates from a baseline of 41% to 70% by December 2023. Their plan employed evidence-based interventions such as provider and patient reminders, patient education, internal policy change, standing orders, electronic health record (EHR)data and reporting, and improved provider recommendations to patients. Unity Medical Center also participated actively in the North Dakota CRC Roundtable through their provider champion, Dr. Jared Marquardt, the state roundtable chair. As of December 2023, their CRC screening rates have risen to 69% and are still rising. They are most proud of the huge amount of buy in from the staff, who are enjoying their innovative techniques to reach the community by focusing on their patients and unique partners.   

Honoree: Family Health Services  

Category: Community Health Center 

Family Health Services is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in South Central Idaho serving over 30,000 patients in an eight-county rural area through eleven locations. In 2015, only 18% of the age-eligible population at Family Health Services was up to date with colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. The health center received state grant funding to increase their CRC screening rates and thereafter refocused their efforts on patient education and outreach, barrier identification, provider recommendation, navigation to colonoscopy for patients with a positive or abnormal stool test, and an innovative program that fundraises at least $25,000 each year for discount colonoscopies from referral partners. They continue to look for innovative ways to increase CRC screening by addressing various barriers, including those related to insurance, income, geography, or culture. January 2024 data show the health center’s overall CRC screening rate has reached 56.2%, with some clinics and providers achieving rates of 60% to 75%. Health center staff are most proud of how their team set the bar high to reach their goal CRC screening rate. Through consistent quality improvement work and staff buy-in, they are reaching and exceeding expectations.  

Honoree: Mikisha Longie  

Category: Survivor Champion  

Mikisha Longie is a colorectal cancer (CRC) survivor, public health nurse at the Quentin N. Burdick Memorial Health Care Facility of the Indian Health Service (IHS), and champion for CRC screening as a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Reservation. Her insistence on using data to drive decision making revealed a significant regression in CRC screening within the clinic post-COVID-19. To address this, Mikisha has worked to spearhead collaborative efforts between public health, tribal health educators, and the IHS clinics in her community. Strategies she has championed include patient education in multiple venues and forms, patient navigation, standing orders for average risk patients, and electronic health record (EHR)improvements, such as building a provider assessment report to review at monthly meetings. From February to August2023, the clinic achieved a 42.8%improvement in CRC screening rates largely attributable to Mikisha’s work. Mikisha is most proud that her team’s efforts are making a difference in their community screening rates.   

To learn more about the ACS NCCRT, and the 80% In Every Community initiative, visit https://nccrt.org/. 

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About The American Cancer Society  

The American Cancer Society is a leading cancer-fighting organization with a vision to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. For more than 100 years, we have been improving the lives of people with cancer and their families as the only organization combating cancer through advocacy, research, and patient support. We are committed to ensuring everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. To learn more, visit cancer.org or call our 24/7 helpline at 1-800-227-2345. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

About the American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable 

The American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (ACS NCCRT) was established in 1997, in partnership with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The ACS NCCRT is a national coalition of 190 member organizations with a shared mission to increase the use of proven screening tests among the entire population for whom screening is appropriate. The American Cancer Society provides organizational leadership and expert staff support to the ACS NCCRT.