Putting Patients First
AHRA & Toshiba Putting Patients First Grants
Enhance Safety in Imaging
The AHRA & Toshiba Putting Patients First program seeks to improve patient care and safety in diagnostic imaging for pediatrics and adults through offering grants to fund programs, trainings and seminars at local hospitals and imaging centers. The winning grant programs are selected by the AHRA and are dedicated to improving patient care and developing best imaging practices in the areas of CT, MR, Ultrasound and X-ray.
Since the program began in 2008, it has expanded in scope. In 2009 and 2010, six grants of up to $7,500 were awarded to hospitals and imaging centers for improving overall safety in imaging, as well as safety in pediatric imaging. In 2011, an additional grant of up to $20,000 will be awarded to an IDN/hospital system to improve patient care and safety in diagnostic imaging and/or pediatric imaging across the entire hospital system.
2011 grant recipients include:
- Texas Children’s Hospital (Houston, Texas) — Use of MRI to Replace CT in the Imaging of Appendicitis in Children
- Fairview Health System (St. Paul, Minn.) — Initiative to Reduce Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital (Cincinnati, Ohio) — Enhancing the Patient and Family Experience in a Children's Radiology Department Through the Use of Tablet Computers
- Bronson Methodist Hospital (Kalamazoo, Mich.) — Video Visits: Using Media to Ease the Pediatric Imaging Process
- St. Vincent Medical Center (Bridgeport, Conn.) — Exposing Safety: Strategies for Radiation Protection
- John T. Mather Memorial Hospital (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) — Reducing CT Scan Cumulative Dose Education
- Harnett Health Betsy Johnson Hospital (Dunn, N.C.) — Medical Imaging to Pharmacy
2010 grant recipients include:
- Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Gainesville, GA. — Benefits of a Community CT Imaging Record and Reduction in Radiation Dose
- Children's Hospital & Medical Center, Omaha, NE. — Artwork Wraps for Pediatric MRI Machines
- St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, Paterson, NJ. — The Alphabet of Imaging: MRI & X-Ray
- Medical Center of the Rockies, Loveland, CO. — Utilizing Hypnosis to Decrease Pharmaceutical Sedation in MRI
- Sublette County Rural Health Care District (SCRHCD): Pinedale & Marbleton Medical Clinics, Pinedale, WY. — SMILE program to help patients understand CT and X-ray for more optimal exams
- Overlake Hospital Medical Center, Bellevue, WA. — TRACE Program – Tools for Radiation Awareness & Community Education
2009 grant recipients include:
- Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, Atlanta, GA. — Use of Bismuth Shields in All CT Exams
- Community Health Network, Indianapolis, IN. — Pediatric CT Imaging Simulation Program
- Memorial Hermann Outpatient Imaging Division, Houston, TX. — Improved Process Program
- Highline Medical Center, Burien, WA. — Improvement Project for Scheduling Inpatients for Imaging Exams
- Shields Health Care, Quincy, MA. — Understanding and Reducing Patient Anxiety
- St. Patrick Hospital, Missoula, MT. — Interactive Utility to Improve the Imaging Process
