Alexandria, LA (1/23/2024) – Rapides Regional Medical Center has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in positron emission tomography (PET) as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
“Thanks go to our PET nuclear med tech, Jennifer Bordelon, Luke McCoy, our physicist, Dr. Stuart Head in Radiology, and everyone involved,” said Karen Hathorn, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Administrative Director of Rapides Cancer Center, which houses the PET/CT scanner. “ACR accreditation helps assure our patients that we provide the highest level of image quality and safety.”
PET, also called PET imaging or a PET scan, is a type of nuclear medicine imaging. Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that uses small amounts of radioactive material, ingested by the patient, to diagnose or treat a variety of disease, including many types of cancers, heart disease and certain other abnormalities within the body.
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.
ABOUT RAPIDES REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
Rapides Regional Medical Center is a 380-bed acute care hospital located in Alexandria, La., providing healthcare on a higher level for families in approximately 16 central Louisiana parishes. Our mission is to provide high quality, efficient and compassionate health care services for our patients and community through the efforts of our employees, physicians and volunteers. Rapides Regional Medical Center has provided state-of-the-art, comprehensive medical services to our community for 121 years. Our campus is home to Rapides Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Rapides Cancer Center, Rapides Outpatient Center, Rapides Regional Trauma Center, 51-bed emergency department, NICU, PICU and ICU.
