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Hospital CT receives accreditation

Rock Springs — Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in computed tomography (CT) as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR). CT scanning — sometimes called CAT scanning — is a noninvasive medical test that helps physicians diagnose and tailor treatments for various medical conditions. It is a special X-ray test which produces a cross-sectional image of the body using X-rays and a computer, said Tracie Soller, MHSC Medical Imaging Director.

3 people training at a computer
Sweetwater Memorial CT techs Kevin Macy and Angie Overy trained last summer with Curt Gardiner, senior clinical applications specialist CT with Siemens Medical US, on the hospital’s new CT Scanner

Sweetwater Memorial replaced its 13-year-old, 64-slice CT scanner last summer. It remains the only 64-slice CT in the region. A 64-slice CT offers more image detail than scanners of a lower slice number; meaning the doctor gets the best information when making a diagnosis.Tracie Soller

“Scanning divides the body up like slices of bread,” Soller explained. “Each image is like pulling up one slice of the loaf and looking at it.”

It combines a series of X-ray views taken from many different angles, and then uses a computer to reconstruct the “slices” to produce actual pictures, Soller explained.

The recent 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.

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.