Imaging Department Earns ACR Accreditation for Ultrasound

BENNINGTON, VT—July 31, 2019—The Imaging Department at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), part of Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC), has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in ultrasound as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR).

Ultrasound is an imaging modality that uses sound waves, rather than radiation, to make an image. Sometimes referred to as sonography, it is quick, painless, and safe. It is used for diagnostic imaging of almost all parts of the body.

SVMC employs five ultrasound technologists. The department has state-of-the-art equipment. Five radiologists, who work at SVMC as part of Radiology Associates of Bennington, interpret the images and provide information necessary to make diagnosis and treatment decisions. 

In addition to ultrasound, SVMC conducts tests using the SVMC Imaging and Women’s Imaging Departments provide mammography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Nuclear Medicine, Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET-CT), and interventional radiology for pain control, and X-ray.

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.

For more information about the Imaging Department at SVMC, visit svhealthcare.org/services/imaging or call (802) 447-5541, option 2. To apply for an opening as an ultrasound technologist, review current openings at svhealthcare.org/careers.

About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, health care system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices. For more information, visit svhealthcare.org.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.

About ACR:
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.