MAMMOGRAPHY SERVICE ACCREDITED

Southeast Missouri Hospital's mammography service has been accredited by the American College of Radiology. The hospital is now listed with the American Cancer Society as a certified program.

Assistant Administer Richard Meyer said the accreditation follows a peer review evaluation of staff qualification, equipment, quality control and quality assurance programs and image quality. The accreditation must be renewed every three years.

More than 2,100 mammography facilities have been accredited nationwide, Meyer noted. He explained that the program was initiated in response to two major concerns expressed by radiologists, other national medical organizations and the public: that qualified personnel perform and interpret mammograms and that dedicated mammographic equipment be used to ensure that women receive optimum mammographic exams with the lowest possible risk.

Southeast began its mammography service in 1986. Last year, 2,961 mammograms were performed at the hospital, said Tom Welch, radiology manager. The hospital's mammography technologists are Robin Lacy, Polly Burrow, and Chelle Daume.

Welch noted that two Southeast nurses, Rose Dean and Mary Ditto, recently received certification to perform physical breast exams after completing a week-long course at M.D. Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Texas.