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Taking Cancer Care To A New Level in 2007: Advances Diagnostic Testing Equipment, While Patient Safety Remains Number One Goal
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The Foster J. Boyd, MD, Regional Cancer Center, which opened in February 2007, is easily identifiable as proof of progress at CMH Regional Health System.
The $8 million, 18,000 square foot cancer center, located at 31 Farquhar Ave., directly across the street from Clinton Memorial Hospital, brings together a range of advanced radiation and medical oncology services, programs and staff expertise that is available five days a week. Support services such as family counseling, nutrition information and an appearance boutique allow for a holistic approach that focuses on the person, not just the disease.
Beyond the bricks and mortar, and less noticeable to the public eye, are the patients who have been touched by the cancer center. Observing its first anniversary this month, the cancer center has already treated more than 300 patients exceeding the projections by more than 100 patients.
Cancer center patient Kathie Kleinman, of Clarksville, sums it up; “When someone is diagnosed with cancer, the entire family is diagnosed. Everyone is engaged. Everyone’s life is on hold. But having the center right here changes the lives of everyone in the family by making it a closer drive and a gentle place to receive treatment.”
Taking Care Of The Community
Clinton Memorial Hospital, like most hospitals, make a serious commitment to the community and demonstrate it through the health care services they provide, from the most basic preventive care and early detection of disease to life-saving procedures.
Hospitals are safety nets for the poor and elderly, foundations
of medical excellence, educators of the next generation of medical professionals
and promoters of good health.
And they are more. Hospitals are a major economic presence in every community, bringing secure jobs to the local marketplace. As one of the state’s largest employment sectors, health care accounts for one in every 10 Ohio jobs. This robust part of the economy will expand even further as aging baby boomers require more health care.
Hospitals are driven by community-based missions to provide access to health care for every patient and improve the overall health of their communities. But they also must be efficient in their business operations so that they can maintain financial strength and continue making the technological and medical advances that improve treatment and overall care for patients.
Non-profit systems like CMH, in particular, adhere to the basics of community benefit: providing charity care to community’s neediest, helping those of limited means; and absorbing government underpayments; while writing off millions in bad debt every year.
CMH Seeing Patients More Clearly
Technological advances and investment in new equipment have given CMH the advantage in when it comes to diagnostic testing.
The new 4-slice Computed Tomography (CT) scanner in the Foster J. Boyd, MD, Regional Cancer Center is the third CT scanner acquired by CMH in the last two years. The cancer center’s new scanner is one of the fastest systems available today – the AsteionTM from Toshiba America Medical Systems. The system delivers fast, accurate diagnoses of disease.
In April 2007 the cancer center began offering mobile positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). PET/CT -- an enhanced imaging technology providing physicians and patients with a non-invasive way of diagnosing and managing cancer care.
CMH also installed a cutting-edge 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system – the EXCELART Vantage™ powered by Atlas – from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. The system delivers image quality that allows faster imaging times, quick and accurate diagnosis and maximum patient comfort.
The system is designed to improve the patient experience with new, patient comfort features which include a shorter bore, which offers greater openness for claustrophobic patients and noise reduction technology, which effectively reduces scan noise by as much as 90 percent.
Patient Safety Remains Top Priority
Patient safety is top priority for every healthcare system and CMH is no different. Each and every day CMH works hard to enhance safety measures and in 2007 several new initiatives stand out.
For the health and safety of patients and visitors, all CMH campuses became tobacco-free on July 1, 2007. Use of tobacco or tobacco products are prohibited inside and outside CMH facilities. Twenty other hospitals and health systems in Greater Cincinnati area led the initiative by banning tobacco use outside on their properties on January 1, 2007.
CMH
Regional Health System’s Emergency Services provider – Professional
Emergency Specialist of Southern Ohio (PESSO) – received the 2007
Annual Stuart Fleming, MD, Patient Safety Award. This award is
given annually by the Emergency Medicine Patient Safety Foundation (EMPSF)
to the emergency department physician group that best demonstrates an overall
commitment to patient safety.
CMH also adopted the Ohio Patient Safety Institute (OPSI) statewide standardization of colored wristbands which helps alert caregivers of certain medical conditions. White bands will be used for patient identification bracelets, red wristbands for allergy, and green wristbands for blood. The fourth color that CMH has not adopted to date is yellow, which alerts if the patient is at risk for falling.
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Other CMH historical footnotes of late:
- Andy Riddell was named the president and chief executive officer, making him the seventh administrator in its 56-year history.
- Several CMH services celebrated anniversaries this year: Emergency Services and PESSO celebrated 15 years of collaboration; Family Medicine Residency Program, Diabetes Services and East Clinton Medical Services celebrated 10 years, while SleepCare recognized five years.
- New physicians joined the CMH Medical Staff, including: Dr. Glenn Rogers, family practitioner at East Clinton Medical Services and Dr. Cheryl Skinner, medical oncologist at the Foster J. Boyd, MD, Regional Cancer Center.
- CMH Rehabilitation Services designed a new, comprehensive program specifically for women’s health issues--Physical Therapy for Women– Empowering Women to Take Control of Their Health.
- The CMH Foundation Auxiliary successfully raised more than $99,000 in 2007.
- Dr. Tom Neville, member of the CMH Medical Staff, was elected chairman of the CMH Board of Trustees replacing Dr. Ruth Hayes, who served two one-year terms as the chair, and will serve as immediate past chair.
- The Foster J. Boyd, MD, Regional Cancer Center held its first annual National Cancer Survivors Day in June.
CMH Regional Health System is anchored by Wilmington-based Clinton Memorial Hospital, a 150-bed, county-owned medical/surgical acute care hospital founded in 1951. The hospital currently operates 95 staffed beds, including intensive care, obstetrics, and inpatient rehabilitation units.
CMH employs nearly 930 people, has more than 100 volunteers and a medical staff of more than 195 with expertise in more than 30 different specialties.
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For more detail on any of these topics visit the News Release section of our website. |
