Radiology Open House

Philip Health Services, Inc, held an open house of its radiology department, Thursday, July 19.
    It had been scheduled from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., for the public to join in guided tours of the newly remodeled rooms, the control console area, and, of course, the new G.E. Revolution EVO 64-slice CT scanner itself.
    The time was also to acknowledge the radiology department staff. They are director Jackalyn Spry, Terrie Cerney, Samantha Huston, Kayla Eymer, Marla Guptill and Rebecca Bryan.
    The control console displays three-dimensional and rotational images of any part of a person’s body. The new 64-slice CT scanner will allow for faster scans that produce high-quality images, allowing medical staff to quickly determine health status and course of treatment while giving patients access to up-to-date healthcare technology close to home.
    With patient privacy a major concern at Philip Health Services, Inc., all identifying information had been deleted from the specific program visible on the CT-scanner’s operating room computer screens. For the scheduled tour, the computer screen displayed someone’s ankle and foot. The displays were rotated, zoomed in on to an almost unbelievable degree, and manipulated to whatever viewing might be required by a doctor specifically trained in reading such information.
    Demonstrations were given on how the CT scanner is set up for a patient. Guests could also see how the control console displays three-dimensional and rotational images of a person’s body, and can zoom in to an amazing detail.
    During the tour, snacks and drinks were provided so guests would feel more comfortable visiting about the new machine and what it can do toward the better diagnosis and care of patients.
    Because of health market regulations, just because the technology improves does not mean the range of costs for its use increases. Whether Philip’s previous CT scanner or the new one is used, or a CT scan done in some other facility in South Dakota, the ranges for the same scan of the same part of a patient’s body are supposed to be similar in costs.
    The machinery is designed to fit most patients. Only the very largest individual might find it uncomfortable staying still for a period of time inside the “donut” of the machine. Someone who can not lift their arms over their head  while laying on their back, without spreading out their elbows, also might require extra coaching from the technicians.
    Special training of the radiology technicians makes the machinery as safe as possible. Only the minimal amount of radiation is used to achieve the scan that is needed. Hard tissue such as bone and soft tissue such as abdominal layers require different amounts of radiation to register most accurately.  
    The goal of the Helmsley Charitable Trust Rural Healthcare Program is to ensure that people who live in rural America have access to quality healthcare as close to home as possible. Rural hospitals need to have up-to-date equipment, so patients can receive healthcare services locally.
    The grant announcement included, “We are very pleased to have been able to help Philip Health Services, and all the people living in the area, to benefit from access to the latest CT diagnostic technology. Congratulations to PHSI and to all the people served by this essential, critical access hospital on the installment of the new CT scanner,” stated Walter Panzirer, trustee, Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
    The $400,000 granted from Helmsley to Philip Health Services, Inc., for the new CT scanner is one of many such grants across the upper Midwest. To date Helmsley has awarded more than $349 million to improve the use of information technologies and provide state-of-the-art training in South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.