November 16, 2009
For Immediate Release

Sacred Heart Hospital’s MRI program
earns ACR accreditation

Eau Claire, WI – Sacred Heart Hospital’s 1.5 Tesla and 3.0 Tesla MRIs have been awarded a three-year accreditation renewal from the American College of Radiology (ACR).

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce high-quality images of body structures without injecting radioactive tracers. MRI also produces images of the internal organs of the body but without exposing the patient to ionizing radiation.

“Our MRIs meet all of the testing criteria established by the ACR Committee on MRI Accreditation for clinical image quality,” said Michael Dillon, radiology director, Sacred Heart Hospital. “This really is a wonderful accomplishment.”

Sacred Heart Hospital is the only hospital in the region to offer the 3.0 Tesla high-definition MRI, which boasts the highest possible resolution, fast scanning times and other high-level applications. 

The ACR awards accreditation to healthcare facilities for the achievement of high practice standards after a rigorous peer-review evaluation conducted by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. The ACR looked at all aspects of Sacred Heart Hospital’s MRI program, including the credentialing of the staff, the quality of images, adequacy of the equipment and the quality control processes in place to maintain the system.

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Sacred Heart Hospital is an affiliate of the Hospital Sisters Health System. Since 1889 it has been meeting patient needs in western Wisconsin with the latest medical innovations and technology, together with a Franciscan whole-person healing tradition.