SVMC's Imaging Department Earns ACR Accreditation

BENNINGTON, VT—March 27, 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 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 or injected into the patient, to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases, including many types of cancers, heart disease, and certain other abnormalities within the body.

SVMC employs two nuclear medicine technologists, both of whom are registered and certified. The department has state-of-the-art equipment, including a dual-head gamma camera, which picks up the isotope tracers and allows the organ functionality to be seen. Five radiologists, who work at SVMC as a part of Radiology Associates of Bennington, interpret the images and provides information necessary to make diagnosis and treatment decisions. 

In addition to Nuclear Medicine tests to evaluate the function of the heart, gall bladder, skeletal system, stomach, kidneys, bones, and thyroid, the SVMC Imaging and Women’s Imaging Departments provide mammography, ultrasound, Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Positron Emission Technology (PET), 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.

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.