Methodist Hospital and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital Recognized for Long-Term Commitment to Quality Echocardiography

By achieving IAC (Intersocietal Accreditation Commission) Echocardiography accreditation for 20 years, Methodist Hospital and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital have received a Bronze Milestone Recognition for demonstrating long-term commitment to continuously improving patient outcomes and safety.

Every three-year cycle, accredited facilities undergo an intensive application and review process to re-earn accreditation, with an assessment conducted 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.

“This is no small accomplishment,” said Hannah Bernard, MHA, RDCS, RVT, lead echo and vascular sonographer for Methodist Hospital. “This is recognition for the countless lives that Methodist has improved and saved through quality echocardiography – a tool that’s only as effective as the people trained to perform and interpret it.”

“Methodist Hospital and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital remain committed to the highest quality of cardiac care, which is evidenced by this recognition of maintaining IAC echocardiography accreditation for more than 20 years,” said Bryan Carolus, RDCS, BSN, RN, Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital’s cardiac center supervisor. “This designation and associated accreditation should give patients, their families and our communities confidence in Methodist’s commitment to providing the best care possible.”

Echocardiography, which is used to assess different areas of the heart, can detect cardiac conditions and heart disease – the leading cause of death for men, women and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States. IAC accreditation assesses the training and experience of the sonographer performing echocardiography, the type of equipment used and the quality assessment metrics each facility is required to measure.

Methodist Hospital and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital, which use specialized 3D echocardiography machines to produce high-quality imaging and visualization, continue to see increases in echocardiogram volume and efficiency each year. In 2022, Methodist Hospital, which first earned IAC accreditation in 2002, performed more than 14,600 echocardiograms while Jennie Edmundson, which first earned IAC accreditation in 2000, performed more than 4,000.

Patients, referring physicians and insurers look for the IAC seal of accreditation as the “gold standard” in the field of echocardiography. Facilities that achieve IAC accreditation demonstrate a clear indicator that they provide a high quality level of patient care.

“We are proud to recognize long-time accredited echocardiography facilities through the milestone recognition program,” said Mary Lally, MS, CAE, who is the CEO of the IAC. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the staff who have consistently demonstrated their commitment to delivering safe, effective and compassionate care, using accreditation as a quality metric. These facilities’ ongoing commitment to quality patient care is an example for other health care providers to follow. It is a reminder of the importance of putting patients first and striving to continuously improve the quality of care provided.”