Barnesville Hospital's Mammography Service Receives 3-Year Accreditation

(L) Tiffany Gatten, RT, R.M., Mammography Quality Coordinator and (R) Nichole Carpenter,
RT, R.M., Mammography Technologist. Absent from picture are registered mammography
technologists Cathy Bruce, Donna Hearn, Judy Mowery, and Peggy Skinner.

As important as mammograms are, they are only worthwhile if the equipment is properly maintained and the personnel properly trained. Barnesville Hospital's Mammography Service has been awarded a 3-year term of accreditation in Mammography as the result of a recent survey by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The ACR accreditation gives assurance that staff and equipment have passed a rigorous evaluation.

The ACR, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, awards accreditation to facilities for the achievement of high practice standards after a peer-review evaluation of the practice. Evaluations are conducted by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. They assess the qualifications of the personnel and the adequacy of facility equipment. The surveyors report their findings to the ACR's Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the hospital with a comprehensive report.

The ACR is a national organization serving more than 32,000 diagnostic and interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, and nuclear medicine and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.

Under the guidance of Director of Diagnostic Imaging, Dr. Carter Kenamond, Imaging Operations Manager, Karen Mihalic, RT R.M., and Tiffany Hart-Gatten, RT, R.M., Mammography Quality Coordinator, a team of six registered mammography technologists perform over 1,000 mammograms annually at Barnesville Hospital. The Diagnostic Imaging Department at Barnesville Hospital has been providing mammography services to the community for over 15 years, while following standards of both the American College of Radiology and the federal regulations of the Mammography Quality Standards Act which are surveyed by the Ohio Department of Heath.

ACR accreditation provides a high level of confidence for patients and referring physicians that only the highest quality care is being provided. For information about Barnesville Hospital's Mammography Services, call (740) 425-5114. To schedule an appointment, contact Central Scheduling at (740) 425-5123.