NARH Earns Breast Imaging Center of Excellence Designation

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — North Adams Regional Hospital’s medical imaging department has again been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology. The ACR’s Commission on Quality and Safety and the Commission on Breast Imaging awarded the designation following accreditation by the ACR.

The Center of Excellence designation is awarded only when a breast imaging center has achieved accreditation in stereotactic breast biopsy, breast ultrasound, and ultrasound-guided breast biopsy, and by the ACR or other accrediting body in mammography.

"This is a great achievement for our hospital, and one that affirms that we offer state-of-the-art services to women," said Andre Langlois, M.D., chief of radiology at NARH. "We have worked very hard to bring all of these modalities to the community, and this recognition by the American College of Radiology speaks to the high quality of care we deliver."

NARH’s medical imaging department performed nearly 6,500 mammograms and breast ultrasounds during 2009.


"Our team of radiologists, radiologic technologists, and support staff are committed to providing the best care using very advanced technology, to produce excellent diagnostic results," said Lisa Harrison, director of Medical Imaging at NARH.

The ACR awards accreditation to facilities which achieve high practice standards after a peer-review evaluation of the practice. Evaluations are conducted by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. They assess the qualifications of the personnel and the adequacy of facility equipment. The surveyors report their findings to the ACR’s Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report.

NARH is a full-service community hospital serving north Berkshire County and surrounding towns in southern Vermont and New York. For more information, visit www.nbhealth.org.
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North Adams Finance Recommends Public Safety, Administration Draft Budgets

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Finance Committee in the last two weeks reviewed Public Safety, auditor, Zoning Board of Appeals, City Council, election and registration, Office of Community Development, city solicitor, License Commission, information technology, Planning Board, and vital statistics.
 
The committee consists of Chair Lisa Blackmer and Councilors Andrew Fitch and Lillian Zavatsky. 
 
The City Council budget includes a 3 percent cost of living increase, in line with the across the board COLA for all departments.
 
Mayor Jennifer Macksey said she included a codification administration line of $6,000 to cover the extra meeting the city clerk is doing as the council reviews the city's codes.
 
The elections budget is up about $10,500, largely for worker salaries to accommodate two state elections this year, the primary and the general. City Clerk Tina Leonesio said the extra poll workers are needed because state elections tend to draw a higher number of voters. The cost of the ballots, however, are covered by the state.
 
Leonesio explained how her office was able to save money on the city census and mailings by printing and folding the documents in house, as well as purchasing the supplies and training to maintain the vital statistics rather than sending them out.  
 
"The cost is in the supplies, because we have to put so many things in the census now, it would be a very large expense to have it done by a vendor outside," she said, estimating it would cost three times as much "because we have to pay for every piece of paper they have to print and fold, plus the mailing."
 
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