KEMH Mammography Department Achieves Accreditation by American College of Radiology

Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) today announced the successful accreditation of its mammography department at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) by the American College of Radiology (ACR). This accreditation runs from June 2008 to June 2011 and is the gold standard for mammography departments across North America. KEMH’s Mammography Team has maintained accreditation with the ACR since 1998.

“We are committed to providing the highest level of healthcare to the community,” says Dr Daniel Stovell, Chief of Diagnostic Imaging. “Accreditation by the ACR provides independent validation that the hospital’s mammography team is providing women in Bermuda with the highest quality of care.”

Mammography Supervisor, Carla Cann, comments: “We recognise that many women feel stressed when they face having a mammogram. However, it is an important part of a woman’s annual wellness check-up once they reach 40. Our goal is to provide a gentle, yet high quality service that makes having a mammogram as painless as possible. The ACR accreditors review our technology and techniques and ensure we use the lowest possible levels of radiation and have a very low number of re-takes, reducing further radiation exposure and also the distress of having to re-do a mammogram.”

Representatives from the American College of Radiology Mammography Accreditation Program also note: “The KEMH Mammography team should display its new ACR Accreditation Certificate so that it is visible to all of patients. It signifies that the facility provides an essential service to its community at the highest standards of the radiology profession.”

Over 3,500 mammograms were carried out at KEMH in 2007. The Mammography team consists of four qualified, registered mammography technologists and four radiologists. The fully-accredited Mammography Program includes a diversified breast imaging department, consisting of diagnostic and screening mammography, breast ultrasonography, and stereotactic biopsy procedures.

This accreditation augments the BHB’s organisational accreditation with Accreditation Canada (previously known as the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation), whose on-site survey takes place next week.

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