New radiology manager is improving services
Picket impressed with hospital, inside and out
Staff reporter
Outward appearances are important for a hospital. Landscaping, neatness, and the overall upkeep of a facility makes a lasting impression.
Joe Picket made that observation when he pulled up to the hospital this past year to interview for the radiology manager position. He noticed the condition of the building exterior and grounds which gave him a favorable impression of the rest of the hospital.
Picket and his wife, Debbie, moved to Marion this past June from Springdale, Ark., where Picket had worked for two years in a 250-bed hospital in Springdale serving an area of 90,000 people.
"We wanted to come back to Kansas," said Picket. "We've got family in the area and wanted to move closer to them."
Picket's stepson and wife, Shane and Morgan Marler, live in Hillsboro. Picket's stepdaughter lives in Winfield, and his two sons live near Little River.
Growing up and going to school in Manhattan, he received his training at Labette Community College, Parsons. Before moving to Springdale, Picket was a radiologic technologist for 16 years at a hospital in Winfield.
"We wanted a change so we moved to Arkansas," said Picket.
"We liked living in Springdale but missed being around family," he said.
Picket sent a "mass mailing" of his resume to hospitals in south central Kansas.
"It's a difficult position for a hospital to fill," said Picket, "and I feel fortunate to be have been hired by the hospital."
"For a small hospital, St. Luke has so much available here," said Picket.
The radiology department provides X-rays, nuclear medicine, mammography, and CAT scans.
There are two other technicians in the department — Sandy Harris and J.R. Ewing. Harris has been at the hospital for more than nine years and in her profession for 38 years. Ewing has been at St. Luke Hospital for 15 years.
A radiologist from Emporia, Dr. Fred Neuer, comes to the hospital twice a week to read the diagnostic tests.
X-ray
The radiographic unit provides routine diagnostic testing. An X-ray is a painless test in which an image is created of part of the body by using low doses of radiation reflected on film paper.
X-rays can be used to diagnose a wide range of conditions, from bronchitis to a broken arm.
The fluorescopic unit is used for special procedures such as upper GIs (gastric intestinal).
An average of eight to 10 X-rays per day are requested.
Nuclear medicine
Like the reverse of an X-ray, nuclear medicine provides an image of the function of a system through a bone scan.
The process uses very small amounts of radioactive substances to examine organ function and structure.
"We were doing one or two a week," said Picket, "but now we're doing four a day."
CAT scan
A CAT (computed axial tomography) scan or CT scan is a painless type of X-ray that uses a computer to produce detailed cross-sectional images, or "slices," of parts of the body.
A cardiologist may order the test to get a clear picture of the heart, the aorta, and the lungs.
The tests sometime require an injection of a special dye, contrast medium.
Since Picket has been managing the department, small improvements have been made.
"Previously the CAT scanning injections were being done manually," said Picket, "with the technician in the room. We now have an automated, pressure injector that doesn't require a technician in the room."
"The CAT scanner emits quite a bit of radiation," explained Picket.
Technicians were being exposed to the radiation at least three times per day, five days a week. Since implementing this change, the radiology readings have significantly been reduced.
Contract services
Mobile services that come to St. Luke Hospital are MRI and ultra sound.
The MRI unit, magnetic resonance imaging, is a non-invasive procedure that produces a two-dimensional view of an internal organ or structure, especially the brain and spinal cord, and is available every Saturday.
The ultra sound is a diagnostic procedure that projects high frequency sound waves into the body and changes the echoes into pictures (sonograms) shown on a monitor. Different types of tissue reflect sound waves differently. This makes it possible to find abnormal growth.
The most common method is taking a picture of the fetus. The service is available twice a week.
Mammography
The only stationary unit in the county, this equipment is used to detect breast tumors. The hospital provides screenings, which is the most common, diagnostic, and localization before a biopsy.
The X-ray examination of the breast detects signs of cancer. It provides an early detection of cancer before a mass is palpable.
Benign abnormal conditions of the breast also are diagnosed by this method. The National Cancer Institute reports that screening mammography for women ages 50 and older, when it is done every one to two years, potentially can reduce breast cancer deaths by one-third or more for women in this age group.
The fully accredited unit provides mammograms five days a week and averages 60 to 70 mammograms a month.
Long-term goals
Like every other hospital, Picket would like to see equipment be updated and replaced in the future.
"X-ray equipment changes drastically from one year to the next," said Picket. "The equipment is computer driven. The hardware doesn't change. The computers that operate the equipment change the most."
Picket also would like to see the CAT scanner be replaced in the future.
"There's technology available that takes 40 pictures in one second," said Picket. "It takes longer to take the patient on and off the table than to take the pictures."
Scanners are so fast now, he added, that it can catch the action of a heart beat.
Nuclear cardiology cannot be provided at St. Luke Hospital at the current time due to space limitations. However, if the CAT scanner were replaced, a mechanical room would not be needed for the scanner. Picket said that the nuclear medicine room could be expanded to include nuclear cardiology.
The Pickets have felt welcomed in Marion and at the hospital.
"We love it here," said Picket. "It's (hospital) a great place to work. People are wonderful and helpful."
The Pickets reside in Marion and Debbie works at Marion Healthmart Pharmacy.
