Pictured, L to R: Wendy Lenhart, Radiology Director; Albert Mungo, MD, Lead Interpreting Radiologist; Kim Brown, Mammographer; and Laurie Capps, Mammographer.

VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital Earns ACR Accreditation

VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in mammography as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR). 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.

"The ACR performs a thorough evaluation of our policies, staff qualifications, interpretations, image quality, and equipment performance,” said Wendy Lenhart, Radiology Director. “Our accredited status gives our referring providers and patients the assurance that our Breast Imaging program at CMH is top notch."

The mammography department has been accredited since 1994, Lenhart said.

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.

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.