Staff Report
Published June 5, 2012

Hillcrest Memorial Hospital has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in nuclear medicine, a branch of medical imaging that enables better diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases.

In nuclear medicine, patients ingest small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases, including many types of cancers, heart disease and certain other abnormalities within the body.

The American College of Radiology recently reviewed and approved the accreditation, which represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety.

It is awarded only to facilities that meet the American College of Radiology’s practice guidelines 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 college’s Committee on Accreditation, which provides the practice with a comprehensive report for continuous practice improvement.

Hillcrest Memorial Hospital is part of the Greenville Hospital System and serves residents of the Golden Strip, including Simpsonville, Mauldin, Fountain Inn and surrounding areas.

The American College of Radiology is a national professional organization serving more than 34,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology.