Gold Seal Accreditation Awarded to SSMH Radiology by the American College of Radiology

Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital (SSMH) has been awarded a three-year gold seal term of accreditation in mammography as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology.

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.

“Cancer rates are at the highest levels they have ever been on the North Slope,” remarked Marie Carroll, President/CEO of Arctic Slope Native Association (ASNA), the organization that operates SSMH under a Title V compact with the Indian Health Service. Since 1993, the North Slope Borough Health Department and ASNA have obtained grants from the Center for Disease Control to fund programs for the early detection of cancer through pelvic exams, colonoscopies, and mammograms. “We have successfully obtained grant funding to ensure our patients have access to high-quality screenings that are close to home,” said Carroll.

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 Guidelines 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 they can use for continuous practice improvement.

ABOUT ACR

The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 36,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.