Bassett Healthcare Network’s echocardiography laboratories earn reaccreditation

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The echocardiography laboratories at Bassett Healthcare Network’s five hospitals have earned reaccreditation.

All the labs have been “continuously” accredited for the past six years, Bassett said in a news release.

Bassett Healthcare Network’s echocardiography programs at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown; Fox Hospital (program located at FoxCare Center) in Oneonta; O’Connor Hospital in Delhi; Cobleskill Regional Hospital; and Little Falls Hospital have all been granted a three-year term of accreditation in echocardiography by the IAC.

Accreditation by the Ellicott City, Maryland–based Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) is a “seal of approval that patients can rely on as an indicator of consistent quality care and a dedication to continuous improvement,” per Bassett.

The accreditation includes the areas of adult stress, adult transesophageal, and adult transthoracic. This latest accreditation awarded to Bassett Healthcare echocardiography programs “demonstrates the facility’s ongoing commitment to providing quality patient care” in echocardiography.

Comprised of a detailed self-evaluation followed by a thorough review by a panel of medical experts, the IAC accreditation process enables both the critical operational and technical components of the applicant facility to be assessed, including representative case studies and their corresponding final reports.

“Heart disease is prevalent in the rural eight-county region served by Bassett Healthcare Network,” Dr. David Oxley, senior attending physician, cardiovascular services, said. “We need all the tools at our disposal to be able to detect and treat this condition in our patients. However, the tools are only as good as the professionals using them and our pursuit of continual echocardiography accreditation by the IAC is evidence of our dedication to providing the best care we can for our patients.”

About echocardiography

Echocardiography is used to assess different areas of the heart and can detect heart disease or signs of serious conditions. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., followed closely by stroke as the fourth highest cause of death.

Bassett cites the American Heart Association (AHA) as indicating more than 2,150 Americans die each day from cardiovascular disease, which amounts to about one every 40 seconds.

Many factors contribute to an accurate diagnosis based on echocardiography. The training and experience of the sonographer performing the procedure, the type of equipment used and the quality assessment metrics each facility is required to measure, all contribute to a positive patient outcome.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com