Conemaugh Health System Earns Breast MRI Accreditation from American College of Radiology

The MRI Department at Conemaugh East Hills Outpatient Center has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR). MRI of the breast offers valuable information about many breast conditions that may not be obtained by other imaging modalities, such as mammography or ultrasound.

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 MRI accreditation compliments Conemaugh Health System’s ACR Breast Imaging Center of Excellence designation, which is awarded to breast imaging centers that achieve excellence by seeking and earning accreditation in all of the ACR’s voluntary breast-imaging accreditation programs and modules.

Conemaugh Health System offers a complete continuum of women’s breast cancer care. From high-risk screening and diagnostic testing, to breast surgery and reconstruction, to radiation oncology and medical oncology, a patient’s entire care team is integrated from detection to survivorship. Based at the Conemaugh East Hills Outpatient Center, the breast surgery program has a dedicated, fellowship-trained radiologist, Kristy Wolfel, DO, who specializes in breast imaging; a fellowship-trained breast surgeon, Renee Arlow, MD; and a breast health nurse navigator, Missy Felton, RN, who guides patients through all stages of the process.

“Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States, but early detection can truly help save women’s lives,” said Dr. Wolfel. “As an ACR Breast Image Center of Excellence, our collaborative team is providing the highest level of diagnostic testing and monitoring to our patients to detect and treat breast cancer at the earliest possible stage.”

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.