CHC mammography department gets 3-year accreditation

The American College of Radiology recently awarded the Commonwealth Health Center’s Mammography Department a three-year accreditation.

Department of Public Health deputy secretary of hospital administration Joaquin I. Taitano said that, after a comprehensive, lengthy and expensive application process involving every aspect of the CHC mammography program, the accrediting arm of the ACR has again recognized the CNMI’s mammography facility for its “achievement of high practice standards” in this important diagnostic imaging modality.

ACR, said Taitano, has granted the mammography program accreditation until October 2008.

Taitano said he is commending the dedication of the CHC’s mammographers, Nolia Muellersman and Miriam Bayle, for their hard work and continued contributions to high quality health care at the public hospital.

“Through their daily efforts, our mammography program is off to a fantastic start for 2005 with FDA Mammography Standards Act certification previously acquired in June,” Taitano said.

He said the women of the CNMI should feel confident in knowing that the mammography service being provided them at the CHC is part of an elite group that works hard to maintain the highest standards in imaging excellence.

Taitano said that ACR, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, awards accreditation to facilities that demonstrate the ability to perform high quality mammograms and employ highly qualified personnel in the imaging and interpretation process, as well as maintain up-to-date equipment necessary in breast imaging.

He said the accreditation process closely evaluates a mammography facility’s personnel, equipment and image quality. It also is particular with quality control and quality assurance programs that are in place.

American board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field conduct the evaluations, said Taitano.

“The surveyors report their findings to the ACR’s committee on accreditation, which in turn provides the facility with a comprehensive report.”

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