AHRA and Toshiba America Medical Systems have announced the winners of their 2014 Putting Patients First grants.
Nemours Children's Health System in Orlando, FL, was awarded one grant up to $20,000. Nemours 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 about upcoming diagnostic exams.
Six additional grants of up to $7,500 each were awarded to the following recipients:
- Children's Hospital Los Angeles, which will review CT exam history to determine ways to increase the use of rapid-sequence MRI and reduce radiation exposure for the evaluation of hydrocephalus in pediatric patients
- SUNY Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, NY, which will create a child-friendly environment in its fluoroscopy and nuclear medicine rooms to reduce radiation dose and sedation use and increase patient and family satisfaction
- University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore, which will create a new training program to teach its radiologic technologists how to approach and interact with children undergoing medical imaging
- Ozarks Community Hospital in Gravette, AR, which 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 in Waco, TX, which will integrate an "implant alert" into its electronic medical record system to improve the screening process and safety of patients undergoing MRI
- MetroHealth System in Cleveland, which will research the issue of "alarm fatigue," where technologists become desensitized to the constant noise during MRI exams and miss critical warnings
In addition to receiving the grants, all winning programs will be featured in an AHRA publication, according to the organizations. The Putting Patients First program is funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Toshiba.
