HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital earns ACR accreditation renewals for mammography

HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital has recently been awarded three-year accreditation renewals by the American College of Radiology (ACR), for the hospital’s digital mammography program and tomosynthesis mammography program. Mammography is a specific type of imaging test that uses a low-dose X-ray system to examine breasts. A mammography exam, called a mammogram, is used to aid in the early detection and diagnosis of breast diseases in women.

“Women of the Chippewa Valley can feel secure knowing they are receiving the best exam possible to help in the early detection of breast cancer when they come to us,” said Dawn Pingel, mammography technologist at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital.

The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Parameters and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report that can be used for continuous practice improvement.