AHRA and Toshiba announce 2014 Putting Patients First Grant Winners

TUSTIN, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Seven leading healthcare providers were selected as recipients of 2014 Putting Patients First grants and now, using these grants, can create or expand education and training to improve the patient experience and safety in diagnostic imaging.

“Committed to People, Committed to the Future”

In the seventh year of the grant program, AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management (AHRA) and Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. awarded one grant of up to $20,000 to an Integrated Delivery Network (IDN)/hospital system and six grants of up to $7,500—three focused on pediatrics, and three on overall patient care.

“As new healthcare initiatives continue to change our industry, programs like Putting Patients First are more important than ever to improve patient care and safety,” said David Fox, AHRA president, CRA, FAHRA. “The financial support from these grants allows hospitals to continue their pursuit of establishing programs with innovative technology to offer the highest quality of care to their patients.”

The IDN grant has been awarded to:

• Nemours Children’s Health System (Orlando, Fla.) – will create an interactive application to be used at the point of care to reduce anxiety and provide patients and their family members with more detailed information on upcoming diagnostic exams.

Pediatric and overall care grants have been awarded to:

• Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (Los Angeles) – will review CT exam history to determine ways to increase the utilization of Rapid-Sequence MRI and reduce radiation exposure for the evaluation of hydrocephalus in pediatric patients.
• SUNY Upstate University Hospital (Syracuse, N.Y.) – will create a child-friendly environment in its fluoroscopy and nuclear medicine rooms to reduce radiation dosage and sedation usage, and increase patient and family satisfaction.
• University of Maryland Medical System (Baltimore) – will create a new training program to teach its radiology technologists how to approach and interact with children undergoing medical imaging.
• Ozarks Community Hospital of Gravette (Gravette, Ark.) – will establish a comprehensive pediatric program called KidSTRONG to reduce radiation dose, improve comfort, and increase understanding of procedures for both patients and parents.
• Providence Healthcare Network (Waco, Texas) – will integrate an “implant alert” into its electronic medical record system to improve the screening process and safety of patients undergoing MRI.
• Metrohealth System (Cleveland) – will research the issue of “alarm fatigue,” where technologists become desensitized to the constant noise during MRI exams and miss critical warnings.

“Toshiba understands its customers’ business and developed the Putting Patients First grant program to provide crucial resources that will improve the accuracy, efficiency and safety of diagnostic imaging,” said Cathy Wolfe, senior director, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Toshiba. “Over the years, this program has led to groundbreaking improvements in patient care that are shared throughout the medical community, and we look forward to seeing the results of this year’s winners.”

In addition to receiving the grants, all winning programs will be featured in an AHRA publication. The Putting Patients First program is funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.