Schneider Children’s Hospital (SCH) announced today that it has been certified by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL). The hospital’s Echocardiography Lab performs more than 8,000 echocardiogram examinations each year to identify congenital and acquired heart disease in fetuses, infants, children and adolescents.

“Congenital heart disease is one of the most common birth defects,” said Fredrick Bierman, MD, chief of pediatric cardiology and chairman of pediatrics at SCH. “The Pediatric Echocardiography Laboratory at Schneider Children’s Hospital is a regional resource used by care providers to identify heart disease before birth and in childhood. We are very proud to have received this accreditation from ICAEL.”

The ICAEL, which has developed an accreditation program that evaluates the quality of an echocardiography laboratory, was established with the support of the American Society of Echocardiography, the American College of Cardiology and the Society of Pediatric Echocardiography. Its mission is to provide a peer review mechanism to encourage and recognize the country’s premiere echocardiographic diagnostic evaluations.

Dr. Bierman said accreditation status signifies that the echocardiography laboratory at SCH has been reviewed by an independent agency that recognizes the lab’s commitment to quality testing for the diagnosis and prevention of pediatric heart disease.

Media Contact: Michelle Pinto 516-465-2649