OAKLAND, Calif., June 26, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alameda Health System (AHS) announced that its Highland Hospital Echocardiography Lab has been recognized for its Adult Transthoracic services (a sonogram of the heart) by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC). The Echocardiography Lab received the IAC accreditation for a three-year term after undergoing a rigorous review of its operational and technical components by a panel of experts, and by demonstrating its ongoing compliance with national standards of quality patient care.
The IAC accreditation is conducted through a comprehensive application process that includes detailed case studies. Participating organizations voluntarily submit to a review of their daily operations, and must revise protocols and validate quality assurance programs to meet the accreditation guidelines.
"Highland Hospital's Echocardiography Lab has earned this accreditation through its dedication to quality patient care and high technical standards," said Dr. Sophie Barbant, Medical Director of Non-Invasive Laboratory at AHS. "We are already recognized as a leader in our community for non-invasive cardiology, and the success of our team positions us as an elite provider."
The IAC Echocardiography division was established in 1996 for the purpose of accrediting facilities that meet national quality standards, and is sponsored by the American Society of Echocardiography, American College of Cardiology, Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography and Society of Pediatric Echocardiography. IAC Echocardiography has accredited more than 5,000 sites to date.
About Alameda Health System (AHS)
Alameda Health System, a major public health care provider headquartered in Oakland, California, is recognized as a world-class patient and family centered system of care with more than 4,500 employees, 1,000 physicians and 480 volunteers. Their facilities include Highland Hospital, a major regional trauma center and teaching hospital; Alameda Hospital, an acute care facility providing emergency, in-patient and outpatient services in Alameda; San Leandro Hospital, which provides emergency and in-patient hospital care services; John George Psychiatric Hospital, an acute and emergency care facility in San Leandro; Fairmont Hospital, an acute rehabilitation hospital and skilled nursing facility, also in San Leandro; and four ambulatory wellness centers in Oakland as well as in Newark and Hayward.