C-T scanner vaults PMH into new millinium D e m i « T.6 1 z o 1 1 U of 0 it 5 a a ? a o î r LI > r a ry Lucane, UR 974J3 Pioneer Memorial Hospital administrator Victor Vander Does, radiology department head Gaylin Fickel and radiographer Evelyn Carroll show the new C-T scan machine now up and running at the hospital in Heppner. V O L 119 NO. 51 8 Pages Wednesday, December 20,2000 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon Snow day! v Amanda Crosswhite, 13, Jennifer Whalen, 13, William Crosswhite, 12, and Macy Burford, seven, all Heppner, had fun downtown last week while the snow was still on the ground. Local woman donates toys to Shrine Hospital Lillian Sweek of Heppner has done something that will make this Christmas season a little happier for a lot of ill children. Sweek, who has been collecting stuffed animals of all kinds for many years, has donated six bags-around 150 toys-to the Shrine Hospital for their little patients. "You don't realize what good you have done," commented Howard Bryant of Heppner, hospital representative for the Tri-County (Morrow, Wheeler and Gilliam counties) Shrine Club. Sweek says that she didn't have room to display all of her stuffed animals, but wanted to put them to good use. "I thought maybe they could get some good out of them." She says that many of the toys had been given by her son Greg and his wife Marsha and their children, Tai and Ian, also of Heppner. Gordon Smith to speak in Hermiston U.S. Senator Gordon H. Smith will be Hemiston this Thursday, Dec. 21, to attend a luncheon at the Hermiston Community Center. A number of community leaders and local organizations have been invited to hear Senator Smith speak on issues of concern to Eastern Oregon. The meeting will be held on Thursday, Dec. 21, at noon at the Hermiston Community Center, 415 S. Highway 395, Hermiston. Howard Bryant and Lillian Sweek Town and Country Banquet The Heppner Chamber of Commerce is preparing for their annual Chamber member luncheon and installation of board of directors on Tuesday, Jan. 9, at 11:30 a m. at All Saints Parish Hall. The annual Town and Country Banquet to honor Willow Creek Valley's First Citizens. Educator, Youth and Business will be held Thursday, Jan. 11. with social hour at 6 p.m. and prime rib dinner at 7 p.m. at the Elks. Guest speaker will be Jack Ohman, Portland Oregonian political cartoonist. Call the Heppner Chamber of Commerce, 676-5536, for reservations. Stepping through the door to the new C-T (Cat) Scan room at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner is a little like stepping into the future. The newly-remodelled room, immaculate and built to accommodate the hospital's newly purchased C-T scanner, is vaguely reminiscent of the film, "2001 A Space Odyssey," and will provide a link to the future for PMH. "We're hoping this kick starts (the hospital)," said administrator Victor Vander Does. "It's going to be a cornerstone for the future. It's a standard of care. If you don't have this service, you're not serving the community." The C-T scanner uses x- rays to take images of the body helically (in a spiral motion). The resulting images are similar to a stack of blocks, with each section providing an eight-milimeter picture of the patient's body. And, the state-of-the-art machine-with its own built-in-air conditioner-does this all in a mattei of seconds. According to Evelyn Carroll, radiographer, and Gaylin Fickel, head of the radiology department at PMH, the whole process, from diaphragm to pelvis, takes only around 45 seconds. From start to finish, a patient would generally be on the C-T table only around five to 15 minutes. And, those tending toward claustrophobia need not be concerned, because the machine is almost entirely open. It is somewhat similar to passing through a very large donut. Patients are often able to wear a gown or their own clothing, as long as it doesn't have any metal on it, which interferes with the scan. After a patient has a C-T scan, the film will be scanned and then sent to a radiologist for a reading. The film can also be sent via the facility's tele­ radiology system and eventually the hospital will have the capacity to send the image directly through their computer. The new scanner will make not only make it easier for local patients to obtain a C-T scan, since they won't have to travel out of town for the service, but will also enable PMH physicians to determine whether a patient needs to be sent to specialists elsewhere. The C-T scanner can be used to rule out injuries of the spine, skull fractures, facial fractures, stroke, bleeding in the brain and brain and other tumors. It will generally not be used for broken bones, which can ber diagnosed very well with regular x-rays, according to Fickel and Carroll. Dr. Jacob Cambier is the facility's primary radiologist, but Carroll says the facility can scan for any referring physician. Previously most patients needing C-T scans were sent to Good Shepherd Hospital in Hermiston. According to Carrol, the new machine may improve the Morrow County Health District's chances of recruiting physicians. It will also improve the district's bottom line. Unfortunately, the scans don't come cheap, ranging in the area of $400 to $1,500. The C-T machine itself cost the district $350,000 (they got a $100,000 price reduction from the original price of $450,000 by joining a purchasing group) and the computer, camera and processor cost another $100,000. Elective C-T studies will be scheduled one day a week, but scans can be done on an emergency basis 24-hours a day. seven days a week. The machine is already up and operational and. as of last Friday, four patients had received scans. Carroll, who was recently hired at PMH. has had 28 years experience as a technologist and seven years experience with C-T scans. More is on the horizon to update the hospital, according to Vander Does. Once the district receives its USDA loans, construction is expected to begin for new emergency, pharmacy and special procedures rooms, new boilers, a new elevator and a new generator-"all those things that are absolutely necessary." says Vander Does. HES students brighten lives of Kosovo children Heppner Elementary teacher Sherry Matteson and her first grade students prepare to pack up supplies for children in Kosovo. S tudents in the school worked to raise money to purchase the supplies. Children at Heppner Elementary School hope to make the lives of children halfway around the world a little bit better. HES kids of all ages worked for local businesses and individuals this Christmas season to raise money for their special project. "Kids for Kosovo." As of Thursday, December 14, the HFS kids had raised $575, which teachers used to purchase books, tablets, crayons, paint sets and pencils to send to children in Kosovo. The children in Sherry Matteson's first grade class even voted to pack up the gift box on the last day of school before Christmas break this year- mstcad of having a Christmas party. Friday deadline for HEDC meeting next week’s paper Because of the Christmas holiday, deadline for next week's Gazette-Times will be this Friday, December 22. at 5 p.m Next week's newspaper will be published on Wednesday as usual. Merry Christmas from the staff at the Gazette-Times! The annual meeting ot Heppner Economic Development Corporation (dba Willow Creek Valley Economic Development Group) w ill be held Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 8:30 am . in the Heppner Ranger District conference room The public is invited to attend 3€appif< 3€&£icUiif¿> ptam alt of tu at JMGQQ We will be closed Monday, Dec. 25th Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 • 1 -800-452-7396 For 1»™ rquipnwnt mil mk urt » • al m iwi