(SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. July 31, 2009) – Harrington Hospitals Mammography Department has passed the yearly inspection by the Department of Public Health (DPH).
“I am so proud of the Mammography staff at Harrington for consistently receiving accolades and high marks for service and quality of care,” said Ed Moore, President and CEO of Harrington Hospital. “It is one more way we express our commitment to providing our communities with Total Local Care.”
Mammography facilities in Massachusetts must have a current license to operate from the Massachusetts Radiation Control Program (MRCP). MRCP also inspects every site in the state.
Representatives from DPH arrived at Harrington in mid July to evaluate specific areas of its mammography department, such as equipment performance, review of quality assurance records and test results, personnel qualifications and credentialing, medical records, and medical audits and outcome analysis records (required by the Mammography Quality Standards Act). Service reports of the equipment for the previous 24 months are also checked.
A critical element of the inspection is the standard of equipment being used. For the inspection, a ‘phantom film is taken for image quality and five cases are reviewed to determine if the mammograms meet certain quality criteria, determined by DPH, the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). The entire process can last 4-5 hours.
Harrington Hospital Chief of Radiology and Director of Womens Imaging Rola Shaheen, MD, made the announcement to Harrington staff and management, giving specific praise to Mammography Director Jackie Wilkinson, who coordinated much of the project.
The Radiology Department at Harrington Hospital houses a full line of state-of-the-art services, including MRI and Nuclear Medicine.
Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard, which recently announced the inclusion of Digital Mammography to its Diagnostic Imaging Department, also underwent a rigorous approval process by state and federal organizations last month to establish its service. The Webster campus expects another visit from DPH in approximately six months.
Harrington radiology services are provided through a partnership with Harvard Medical Faculty physicians from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).
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