2005 Press Releases
Rome Memorial Hospital Mammography Department Awarded 3-year Accreditation ROME -- Rome Memorial Hospital has been awarded a three-year accreditation by the American College of Radiology (ACR) for its mammography services, announced Medical Imaging Department Director Brian James. “It is an assurance to our patients that we provide the best possible images and the interpretation of those images,” he said, adding that “quality care for all of our patients is our ultimate goal.” The ACR, headquartered in Reston, Va., awarded accreditation to Rome Memorial Hospital for its achievement of high practice standards after a peer-review evaluation of the hospital’s practice. Over about a 6-week period, evaluations of actual mammography cases and quality control films were conducted by board certified physicians and medical physicists, who are experts in the field, said James. Also assessed were the qualifications of personnel and the adequacy of the facilities quality assurance program. “All areas were found to be acceptable,” he said. “Our radiologists and Dr. John Restivo, chairman of the Medical Imaging Department, have set the bar at a level that assured us this accomplishment,” he added. “Their insistence on imaging excellence and quality patient care is clearly evident,” he added. James said that the efforts of assistant director Sharon Carson, mammographers Genevieve Bartoszek and Desiree Edgar, and the entire medical imaging staff made the accreditation possible. “This accreditation exemplifies the hospital’s quest for excellence, said James. “It takes us well beyond the minimum standards of practice,” he added. Carson said that this accreditation is a strong indicator to patients that “our films and the personnel who work in the department are of top-notch quality.” She said that it is a stringent process and very challenging to pass. “Every detail has to be perfect,” she said. James said the Mammography Department also recently passed the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) inspection. “In 1994, Congress enacted MQSA to ensure that all women have access to quality mammography for the detection of breast cancer in its earliest, most treatable stages,” said James. “MQSA has very stringent guidelines and passing it once again indicates the high level of service that we strive to provide for our patients,” he added. Assistant Vice President of Planning and Outpatient Services Mark Snyderman said that patients at Rome Memorial Hospital have the assurance that the mammography procedures being done at the hospital meet the standards of the ACR and MQSA and other standards across the nation.” “Between ACR, MQSA, and the New York State Department of Health, we are surveyed annually in medical imaging,” he said. “We were the first facility in this area to be accredited by ACR before it was mandated. We participated in the process when it was just voluntary.” Rome Memorial Hospital provides mammography services at the hospital’s 1500 North James Street site. The Central Outpatient Scheduling Office at 338-7338 can make appointments with a physician’s order. The ACR is a national organization serving more than 32,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists and medical physicists with programs for focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services. | 