December 2007
Where caring counts. Feel the difference.
Where Caring Really Counted – for Gladysmi
G
ladys Torstenson hated and feared hospitals, and did all she could to avoid them. Before moving to Shelton in 1993, Gladys swore she would never go into a hospital. However, in 1998 her family had no choice but to take her to the Emergency Department at Mason General Hospital. It was then she began a journey of many visits to MGH but only after she was won over by the attentiveness of Dr. Joe Hoffman, a board-certified Gladys’ family came back to thank some of the emergency services physician. staff that helped with her care, (l-r) Teresa TorstenThis visit was the first time she had son, daughter; Kathy Miller, granddaughter; Bill felt at ease in any hospital setting, and Tucker, lab assistant at MGH, Hildi Espino, R.N. it would also be the first of several trips in ICU; and Mary Johnson, daughter. to Mason General for Gladys, until her Hildi, the ICU nurse. “Everyone, from the death in October. doctors, nurses, and lab technicians, to even “Each time, the staff at Mason General the kitchen staff – were so kind and loving was wonderful with our mother,” said Gladys’ with her that she came to regard them as her daughter, Mary, naming everyone from Bill in the lab, to Pat in diagnostic imaging, and Continued on page 2…
MRI Now Available at Hospital
Mason General Hospital’s diagnostic imaging now has Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) available starting in mid-December. MRI technology combines a powerful magnet, radio waves, and a computer to produce
high-quality images that assist physicians in assessing a patient’s condition. It differs from both the x-ray and CT scan because it uses radio waves to pass through the body. This allows exceptional pictures showing soft body tissue in great detail. There are no known side effects and the unit uses no harmful radiation. Nearly any body part may be evaluated from nearly any angle. “This system allows us to provide the best images available, aiding physicians in their efforts to provide the best diagnoses possible based on the additional information the MRI scan provides,” said Bob Appel, CEO at MGH. For more information call Shelly at (360) 427-9551.
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Vol. 23 No. 6
Lab Services Streamlined– Average Wait Time Reduced by 43% Changes were recently made in our laboratory service that were directed at improving the laboratory outpatient experience. Those changes are now paying off. According to Dee Ann Kline, Ph.D., director of laboratory services at MGH, the average total patient wait time for service over the last few months has been reduced by 43 percent. Factors contributing to this improvement include: ✽ Focusing on the priority of outpatients ✽ Adding extra morning lab assistants ✽ Increasing the number of lab assistants assigned to the outpatient draw station Continued on page 2…