Your heart is in good hands at War Memorial Hospital

NEWS RELEASE

WAR MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

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WMH Echocardiography gets stamp of approval

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI - War Memorial Hospital has been granted a three-year term of accreditation in the area of echocardiography, a form of ultrasound used for the early detection of life-threatening heart disorders, by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC).

Accreditation by the IAC means that WMH has undergone a thorough, rigorous review of its operational and technical components by a panel of experts.

The IAC grants accreditation only to those facilities that are found to be providing quality patient care in compliance with national standards.

Marian Burton, WMH director of Cardiopulmonary Services, said accreditation is a vote of confidence from a national organization and praised the hospital’s three echo technologists: Kelly Avery, Heather Corbiere, and Caryn VanSloten.

“Visiting physicians who work with echo techs in other cities will frequently tell us that our echo techs are the best anywhere,” Burton shared.

IAC accreditation is a “seal of approval”  that patients can rely on as an indication that the facility has been carefully critiqued on all aspects of operations considered relevant by medical experts in the field of echocardiography.

David Jahn, WMH chief executive officer, said accreditation of this service, as well as cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehabilitation, are important indicators to physicians considering Sault Ste. Marie of the hospital’s commitment to excellence.

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death in the United States, claiming a life every 39 seconds nationwide.

The American Heart Association estimates that the direct and indirect cost for cardiovascular disease in the U.S. for 2010 was $503.2 billion.
 
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Pictured: Using echocadiography technology, Kelly Avery, WMH Echo Tech, can help physicians diagnose a variety of heart ailments. Avery works alongside Heather Corbiere and Caryn VanSloten in the hospital's echo lab.