Penn Highlands DuBois has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in mammography

Breast Care Services at Penn Highlands DuBois has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in mammography as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology, or ACR.

The ACR is a national professional organization serving more than 36,000 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.

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 Guidelines 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 they can use for continuous practice improvement.

“The passionate and specialized team strives to provide the best quality care for the patients of our community,” Connie Cribbs, manager of Women’s Imaging at PH DuBois, said.

For those who do need additional testing, PH DuBois Breast Care Services provides same day results to the patients and their physicians. “If a biopsy is recommended, our team of doctors works diligently to schedule the biopsy within the same day or next. “Our goal is to reduce the emotional anxiety that women suffer when there is lengthy wait involved,” Cribbs said

PH DuBois has a registered nurse who acts as a navigator for women. The nurse navigator provides education to women. For those who have had abnormal mammogram results, she explains the next steps to further investigate what is going on.

“Having a nurse navigator talk to patients through this anxious time is invaluable. We are told by our patients that having someone to turn to helps so much,” Cribbs said. “She answers questions and provides support in addition to what family and friends provide.”

“We want woman to know they can count on us to detect breast cancer early, and know they are getting the best possible care from our entire specialized team.”

For more information about mammograms, call Breast Care Services at 375-4061.