FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Gwendolyn D. McClain
Director of PR & Government Affairs
Office: (510) 727-2720
Cell:    (510) 305-6579
Email

Castro Valley, CA – February 19, 2009 — Eden Medical Center has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR).  By meeting the rigorous standards of ACR’s voluntary, breast-imaging accreditation programs in four modalities—mammography, stereotactic biopsy, breast ultrasound and breast ultrasound guided biopsy—Eden is the only hospital in Alameda County to receive this prestigious honor.

“Today we are very proud of this achievement,” said Ginny Carpenter, Eden Medical Center’s Director of Radiology.   “To become a breast imaging center of excellence is not mandatory.  We chose to apply for accreditation, spend the hours and additional expense to get further training in all four modalities, and perform the requisite number of exams.

“Our accreditation from ACR assures that the women who come to Eden for routine mammograms, and, if necessary, breast biopsies, are being screened by highly trained technologists and physicians who use the most advanced equipment to produce and analyze exact images.”

To win accreditation for each breast imaging modality, Eden volunteered to submit to the ACR’s year-long, peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field.  All equipment is evaluated for operational performance and must have up-to-date licensing.

Technologists have to complete 200 mammogram exams and 24 stereotactic biopsies every two years, in addition to advanced training.  Likewise, radiologists are required to analyze images from 960 mammograms every two years, plus 100 ultrasound breast exams, 12 ultrasound biopsies and 12 stereotactic biopsies annually, while also completing further education on each modality.

After achieving high practice standards in image quality, equipment, personnel qualifications, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs, Eden was issued the ACR certificate of accreditation and designated a Breast Center of Excellence on February 3, 2009.

The ACR, headquartered in Reston, VA, is a national organization serving more than 32,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs for focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology, as well as the delivery of comprehensive health care services.

In addition to the full array of breast imaging services, Eden also offers patients Dual Energy X-ray Absortiometry, or DEXA scanning, the most widely used method to measure bone mineral density.  For additional information about the ACR accreditation or Eden Medical Center’s diagnostic imaging services, or to schedule an appointment call (510) 889-5044.

Eden Medical Center

Eden Medical Center is a not-for-profit, community-based medical center that includes Eden Hospital, San Leandro Hospital and Laurel Grove Acute Rehabilitation Hospital. By working together, Eden Medical Center’s physicians, volunteers and dedicated employees ensure that the community has access to exceptional medical, surgical, psychiatric and rehabilitative services. Eden offers a wide range of health and wellness classes, support groups and specialty services for the entire family. For a complete listing or to explore our full library of health information, visit Eden online.

To find out about the new Sutter Health hospital that will be replacing Eden Medical Center visit http://www.suttermedicalcentercastrovalley.org.

# # #