Where Your Money Goes

Major milestones this year at Kimball Medical Center included the addition of state-of-the-art technology, advanced systems and new initiatives all focused on improving the quality of medical and healthcare service we’re able to deliver to our patients and our community at large. Below are just a few of the year’s highlights.

New Electronic Image System Enhances Radiology Services

Kimball Medical Center greatly enhanced Radiology Services this year with the addition of its new Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).

The new PACS system enables Kimball to capture, archive and distribute all radiology images electronically – facilitating access for physicians. Emergency Department physicians can now access patient images electronically and can consult by telephone with the radiologist while they simultaneously view the images. Surgeons can instantly view diagnostic scans right in the operating room during surgery with no waiting. The new system also enables remote access, allowing referring physicians to view patients’ diagnostic exams on their office computer via the Internet. The new system was part of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System’s $2.5 million capital improvement project that helped facilitate several
initiatives at Kimball Medical Center this year.

Telemetry Unit at Kimball Medical Center

Enhancing the level of cardiovascular services within the community, Kimball Medical Center, through a generous donation by the Kimball Medical Center Auxiliary Council, made important upgrades this year to its telemetry monitoring services. The new state-of-the-art cardiac telemetry technology allows for the continuous monitoring of each patient's heart rate and rhythm at the nursing station in Kimball’s two cardiac telemetry units. This lifesaving service is provided to patients recovering from cardiac events, patients who may be at risk of a cardiac event, and patients experiencing ongoing heart problems. At Kimball Medical Center telemetry services are part of the highest standard of care we deliver to our patients and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to excellence in cardiac care.

Mini C-Arm at Kimball Medical Center

The Medical Center underwent major upgrades in its operating room facilities this year adding high-definition video systems,new laser technology, state of the art lighting, and a new Mini C-Arm. This highly advanced, complex imaging equipment utilizes fluoroscopy, a type of x-ray technology, to produce real-time images that can be viewed and manipulated on video monitors in the operating room during surgery. This state-of-the-art technology, particularly useful for imaging hands, wrists, shoulders, knees and feet, allows Kimball’s surgeons to identify fractures and anomalies, guide injections or hardware placement, locate foreign bodies, perform motion studies and monitor
interventions of all kinds instantaneously as they occur – all while reducing exposure to radiation.

Quality Initiatives at Kimball Medical Center Receive InternationalRecognition for Excellence

Kimball Medical Center staff members were involved in a host of ongoing quality improvement programs this year, many of which received international recognition for excellence. Three teams of Kimball employees were selected to present their clinical research projects at the 21st Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Healthcare hosted by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in Orlando, Florida. This prestigious forum, which draws more than 5,500 members of the international healthcare community, is the premier gathering for those committed to improving the quality and value of healthcare. Kimball Medical Center’s teams presented research based projects on a number of diverse topics including: Restraint Reduction Performance Improvement; Preventing Hospital Acquired Pressure Ulcers Through Improved Identification of Present on Admission and the High Risk for Breakdown on Admission; and Impact of a Pharmacy Driven Anticoagulation Management Program in a Community Hospital: Decreasing the Risk for Warfarin Adverse Drug Events.

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