RRH Earns ACR Accreditation

Ridgecrest Regional Hospital has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in nuclear medicine as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material, ingested by the patient, to diagnose and treat a variety of disease, including many types of cancers, heart disease and certain other abnormalities within the body.

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.

“As a Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist with 31 years of experience, it is thrilling to know that I am providing the same quality care at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital as had been required when I worked at major teaching hospitals in New York and that the Nuclear Medicine Department here conforms to nationwide strict standards,” said Marian Murdoch, Chief Nuclear Medicine Technologist, Radiology at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital. “Knowing my patients can get that sort of peace of mind in Ridgecrest means a lot to me.”

“An ACR accreditation in nuclear medicine is another benchmark in our efforts to provide the highest level in patient safety standards,” said Ridgecrest Regional Hospital’s CEO, James Suver. “As more and more people become rightly concerned about exposure to radiation, having the trusted gold seal of approval, means our facility has undergone a rigorous and comprehensive review and patients can rest assured in our commitment to providing quality and expert care.”

The ACR, founded in 1924, is a professional medical society dedicated to serving patients and society by empowering radiology professionals to advance the practice, science and professions of radiological care. The College serves more than 37,000 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.