Copper Queen Community Hospital has been notified that they have been selected for a $184,822 grant under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Rural Development. The hospital was one of 105 recipients from 41 states who received a grant, and the only health care facility in Arizona to do so.
Copper Queen Community Hospital’s mission of providing access to care will be furthered by the addition of this teleradiology program, made possible by the grant funding, which is designated for the purchase of a Picture Archival and Communications System (PACS).
Patients will benefit from the grant by the fact that radiologists will now be available 24/7, 365, to read the images. Currently Copper Queen Community Hospitals has radiologists present weekday mornings, but sometimes x-rays are taken in the ER at night, and reading occurs on the next day, but with the PAC system they can be read almost immediately, anywhere, including the physicians’ homes and offices. The system will include the ability to send the images instantaneously to other medical facilities, should a patient need to be transferred.
The grant will fund the replacement of existing x-ray developing equipment with computerized radiography equipment, called Picture Archival and Communications System (PACS). The images are computerized, which will allow them to be transmitted digitally instead of being developed on film. In addition, the new system will bring clarity and allow digital enhancement of the images.
All three hospital clinic locations will also benefit by adding the ability to provide basic radiology services whose results can be seen and read by physicians, no matter where they are located. The Palominas/Hereford Clinic will now be able to add radiology services with the availability of this new technology. Patients will be able to receive this service at the Copper Queen Medical Associates clinic closest to their home, Bisbee, Douglas, or Palominas, saving time and transportation costs. Patients will also benefit from the fact that physicians will be able to receive a diagnosis and begin treatment sooner because of the reduced length of time from imaging to the final reading.