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Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center invests $6 million in state-of-the-art technology

September 24, 2004 - Danville, Kentucky - Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center prides itself on offering the most current technology available for the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses and injuries. Recently, the Medical Center approved the investment of $6 million in state-of-the-art technology that will enhance the care provided to patients.

"As a regional medical center, we have thousands of individuals in the area who depend on us to provide them with quality medical care and the technology needed to deliver that care," said Barry Michael, president of Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center. 

William Stevens, incoming chairman of the Medical Center's Board of Directors, said the new technology "is a wonderful step forward in our ability to serve the health needs of this community."

"It is just another indicator of the determination of the doctors, nurses, administrators and Associates to see that the patients of Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center receive the finest possible care and treatment," Stevens said.

Michael said the new technology will enhance the Medical Center's quality of care and patients' access to care and also decrease the time from when a test is done to when the physician gets the report.

Nearly half of the Medical Center's investment has been in MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) equipment. An Open MRI has been in service at Ephraim McDowell Diagnostic Center (formerly known as Southtown Center), located at 101 Daniel Drive in Danville, since early July while a new MRI at the Medical Center will be installed this week and is expected to be ready for patients by mid-October.

"Our Open MRI and other MRI equipment are 2004 equipment with the latest technology," Michael said. "All of the scans done on them will be read by local radiologists, which means a quicker turnaround time for the physician to begin treating his patients."

He noted that the Open MRI's location in an outpatient setting offers ease of registration for patients, as well as ample parking. The Open MRI provides a more comfortable, relaxed environment for patients because it is open on three sides. It is especially suited for pediatric, elderly and obese patients as well as individuals who tend to be claustrophobic.

The new MRI being installed at the Medical Center has a 1.5 Tesla magnet, which is the top of the line in terms of magnet strength for a community hospital, Michael said. Because it is a very strong, high-strength magnet, it has increased diagnostic capabilities. 

"With the new MRI, we will be able to do some scans that we hadn't been able to do before," said Dr. Timothy Whitt, a radiologist at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center. "Those new scans include more in-depth studies of the abdomen, the gallbladder and bile ducts as well as the blood vessels."

The Medical Center's Board of Directors has also approved the purchase of a new 16-slice CT scanner, an investment of nearly $1 million. That new equipment is expected to be operational in January and will be located at the Diagnostic Center on Daniel Drive. 

"Our new CT scanner is state-of-the-art technology that will allow the radiologists to view a cross-section of the body in .75 milliliter slices," Michael said. "That thin of a slice is expected to be able to help detect the tiniest abnormalities or tumors."

Whitt said that puts the Medical Center on the "cutting edge" for a clinical or medical setting. Most other hospitals use 1-, 4- or 8-slice CT scans, Michael said, noting he is pleased with the hospital board's decision to invest in such high-tech equipment.

Once the new CT scanner arrives, the Medical Center will have two CT scanners À the new, 16-slice scanner in service at the Diagnostic Center and a 4-slice scanner at the Medical Center that was purchased three years ago.

"Having two CT scanners and two MRIs will allow us to decrease the time from when a physician orders a study to the time when the patient actually has the procedure," Michael said. "Where the patient now may wait one to two weeks to have an exam, we expect to reduce that time to one or two days."

The Medical Center is also acquiring technology known as Patient Archiving Communication System (PACS), valued at approximately $2 million. The system is expected to be operational by next April.

"PACS means we are taking a step toward filmless radiology," Michael said. "This system will expedite the turnaround time of radiology reports getting to physicians, and that means quicker diagnoses for patients."

The PACS system digitizes all X-rays and stores them in a computer. Once the images are in the computer, they can be sent to a patient's physician in a matter of minutes.

Examples of situations where PACS will be beneficial to patients are endless. Locally, PACS will allow images to be sent to a physician's office either the same day or the next day of the exam, depending on the time of the procedure. More globally, a patient's imaging history can be burned to a CD so the patient can take it with him to a physician practicing in another city or state. In addition, if an individual suffers a mishap while on vacation in another country, images can be transferred via the Internet. The PACS system will also allow a local physician to consult with an expert on a particular disease while they both look at the patient's scan.

The Medical Center has also invested $200,000 in Talk Technology, a voice recognition transcription system that is expected to be operational by late October. It will be used for transcribing radiology reports.

"With Talk Technology, the radiologists will dictate their reports into a machine and it instantaneously transcribes it and prints out a report that can be faxed to the patient's floor (if they are hospitalized) and/or the referring physician," Michael explained. 

Whitt said individuals in Ephraim McDowell's service area are fortunate to have such a wide array of the latest technology available to them and their physicians.

"For a hospital this size to have all of the state-of-the-art technology that it has is very impressive to me as a radiologist," Whitt said.

Both Michael and Whitt encourage individuals to have their diagnostic testing done through Ephraim McDowell.

"By having services done at either the Medical Center or our Diagnostic Center, individuals will have all of their results in one place, which is both convenient to them and enhances the physician's ability to begin treatment," Michael said.