Beacon to Become CT Center of Excellence
By the end of 2014, Beacon Health System will become a Low-Dose Center of Excellence. This is an expansion of the honor earned by Elkhart General from Siemens as one of four hospitals in the nation to carry this distinction. It’s part of Beacon’s Computed Tomography (CT) initiative, which will standardize and improve the patient-care experience by replacing aging imaging equipment and creating consistent practices and protocols.
The goal of the technology upgrades is aligned with a nationwide trend of reducing radiation to patients needing CT scans. The CT initiative is part of a larger, Beacon-wide plan to standardize health care practices across the organization.
Beacon’s solution is to obtain four new scanners to be installed across three counties. The first is to be housed at Elkhart General. Software will be installed and protocols established on this scanner and then replicated at Memorial Hospital, Lighthouse Imaging Center and lastly at Beacon Medical Group – LaPorte.
All existing scanners will be traded back to the manufacturer with the exception of one that will be donated to the Father Hesburgh Hospital in Ecuador.
Thank you to the following individuals for their fantastic work with the CT initiative:
- Samir Patel, M.D. (Radiology, Inc.)
- Mike Grantham, M.D. (Radiology, Inc.)
- Dan Walter – CT Coordinator Memorial
- William Molen – Radiology Manager Elkhart General
- Ray Kiendl – Executive Director of Radiology Elkhart General
- Derek Taylor – Director of Diagnostic Imaging Memorial
Once the state-of-the-art CT scanners are in place:
- Standardized CT radiation dose reduction will be system wide.
- Siemens will honor the Low-Dose Center of Excellence across all of Beacon.
- Beacon will successfully meet the Joint Commission regulatory guidelines for radiation dose documentation.
- Standardized CT protocols will be in place across the system.
- Bariatric capabilities will be enhanced due to larger bore size and greater table weight limits.
- Enhanced efficiency and improved safety of CT-guided interventional radiology procedures.
