Michael Lupo, director of radiology at
More comfy equipment creates improved images and decreases exam times.
A year after emerging from federal bankruptcy protection,
The hospital recently purchased a digital X-ray machine that produces improved images, shortens exam times and will help move the hospital toward an all-digital processing system for X-rays, eliminating the use of film. The hospital began using the machine in March.
Coalinga Regional purchased the equipment -- the Kalare by Toshiba -- for $238,094 and spent another $375,000 renovating a medical records room to house the new machine, said Sharon Spurgeon, the hospital's CEO.
"For a small, rural hospital, it's pretty big, and it's a pretty big investment," Spurgeon said.
Toshiba installed the first Kalare in a
Coalinga Regional's investment of more than a half-million dollars -- between room renovation and equipment purchase -- provides a second X-ray option for patients. The hospital continues to use an older X-ray machine.
Michael Lupo, director of radiology at the hospital, said the new X-ray machine is a vast improvement for patients because it can provide detailed images in about half the time.
"It's good because it reduces radiation exposure to patients and we are able to visualize smaller abnormalities more effectively," he said. The machine uses a high-frequency generator that produces a more efficient X-ray beam.
Lupo said the new machine also provides for detailed fluoroscopy exams, a process by which real-time, moving images can be captured.
Patients will also notice the machine is more comfortable.
"It has a floating table top," Lupo said. Instead of having to move the patient to line up a specific body part, you move the table, he said.
The machine can also accommodate larger patients because it has a higher maximum weight capacity.
But one of the biggest benefits of the machine is its digital capability.
The ability to burn images on a CD is huge as the hospital -- like most hospitals nationwide -- moves toward digital X-ray technology.
Lupo said the hospital will bolster what the Kalare can do when its adds the Picture Archiving and Communication System, or PACS, in June. The computerized imaging system uses digital technology to provide a filmless alternative to viewing X-rays, CT scans and other images.
The new X-ray technology is just one way the hospital is looking toward the future, said Spurgeon, who took over as CEO in 2004, a year after the hospital filed for bankruptcy protection.
Coalinga Regional filed under Chapter 9 of the bankruptcy code, which covers municipalities and other government entities. The hospital qualifies because it is a taxpayer-supported hospital established under the state's special district laws. Bankruptcy allowed it protection from creditors while a debt-repayment plan was arranged.
Last year, the hospital added to its 78-bed hospital when it purchased Coalinga Distinguished Community Care, a 60-bed skilled nursing facility. The new facility provided an additional revenue source for the hospital.
This is an example of a barium swallow X-ray. The patient is asked to drink barium liquid, which contains a metallic chemical that X-rays cannot pass through. The results can be seen in real time.
By Tracy Correa / The Bee
Source：Fresnobee.com (April 27, 2007)
http://www.fresnobee.com/270/story/44259.html
