INTEGRIS Bass Baptist Health Center Installs PACS
7-18-08

INTEGRIS Bass Baptist Health Center has recently installed new technology that will make the hospital’s Imaging Services Department filmless and paperless. 

The six-month project was a significant investment for the hospital and has been a large project for the Information Technology Department, according to IT Director Shelli Struble.

“It’s been a big undertaking, a major project”  Struble said.

The technology is referred to as PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) and it allows images such as x-rays and CT scans to be stored electronically and viewed on high resolution computer screens, so that physicians can retrieve the information and compare it with previous images. Since PACS is new, previous images taken on film are being digitized and entered into the system so the physician can access current images, as well as ones that pre-date PACS.

The Imaging Services Department has systematically upgraded equipment in the department to make it PACS compatible.  In the past several years the department has seen the installation of a new MRI, CT Scanner, R&F Room, ultrasound and mammography machine.

Vicky Godding, Director of Imaging Services at Bass said the new equipment was added with PACS in mind.   “This is the direction we knew we were headed.”  she said.

Struble and Godding agree that being able to conveniently and quickly access images through PACS will support physicians in diagnosing and treating their patients and it will contribute to a more efficient and advanced service.   In the areas that have recently begun to utilize PACS, it is seen as a real positive improvement for patients and radiologists, and makes a significant and immediate improvement to the way clinicians and staff work.

From the patient point of view there is no difference in the imaging process itself, but reporting will be much quicker and physicians will be able to view the images simultaneously in different locations. If the doctor reviews an x-ray with the patient, for example, they will see the high definition images on a high resolution monitor, rather than a film on a lightbox.

Godding said there will be no need for patients to carry packets of film around the hospital, or between sites, during the course of their care. If a patient needs the images to take with them, a DVD is created and given to the patient.  PACS not only handles traditional x-ray images but will also include nuclear medicine ultrasound, x-ray, CT and MRI.  Mammography will be the hospital’s next step.

Digital images with PACS are reducing storage space and film processing costs and that means the staff doesn’t need to touch chemicals they previously used for processing x-ray films.

“We also get higher quality images with PACS, which the radiologists can view more flexibly – manipulating the images on screen to zoom in where they need to. The difference in the quality of the image is astronomical, Godding said.  It’s also helping create a better workflow and improve the efficiency of our patient care.  PACS also means we no longer misplace patient images, because we store them electronically. 

Struble said the department is also using a voice recognition program for physician dictation.  The program, called PowerScribe, allows physicians to dictate reports by using regular speech patterns.  The software actually builds a dictionary for the physician. natural, Radiologists can dictate several reports at a time before reviewing them, or dictate and review each report individually. Physicians wishing to avoid editing their own reports can simply route them to an editor for review and correction.  PowerScribe is compatible with the newly installed PACS system.

Godding said the new technology which went live this week, is just another example of INTEGRIS’s commitment to the residents of Enid and northwest Oklahoma.

Six-Year-Old Says Thanks To Those Who Saved His Life
7-17-08

The Emergency Department at INTEGRIS Bass Baptist Health Center had a special visitor on Tuesday.

Colton Henkle, age 6, stopped by with his family to say hello to the staff members who helped save his life on New Years Eve.  It was the Missouri boy’s first trip to Enid since almost drowning in a friend’s swimming pool nearly seven months ago.

Colton fell into a pool just after 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.  The Henkle family had made the trip to Enid from their home near Joplin, Missouri, to visit friends.  Upon discovering his young son in the swimming pool, Colton’s dad jumped in and pulled him out and called 911.  Colton’s body temperature had plummeted and he was not breathing and had no pulse.  The dispatcher immediately sent fire, police and ambulance to the scene and put EMS on the phone with Colton’s dad, and coached him through CPR procedures. 

Colton arrived at INTEGRIS Bass Baptist Hospital by ambulance, and staff members spent two hours working to warm Colton’s body and restore life signs.  Paramedic John Witkowski prepared Colton for transport to the hospital and was one of the emergency personnel who worked on him en route. Dr. Jeff Hoffsommer and Dr. Steve Mareburger worked with nurses Jenna Hewlett, Nikki Watson, Stacey Purintun, Emily Powell and Andrea Cooper.  Shannon Alexander, Dewayne O’Mealy, Kelly Ward and Cindy McRae also assisted in the heroics.

Colton was then transferred to Tulsa where hospital staff praised INTEGRIS for their efforts and their determination in not giving up on the little boy.  Physicians in Tulsa gave the child a less than 5 % chance of recovery and a less than 1% chance of recovery without brain damage.

Today Colton is fully recovered with no adverse affects.  He doesn’t remember the events that took place that New Years Eve, but was all smiles as he visited with physicians and staff members.  He said he’s spent this summer playing, and visiting his local YMCA and taking swimming lessons.

After his visit to the hospital, Colton and his family attended a City Council Meeting where he was honored alongside the emergency personnel and hospital staff members who worked to save him.

INTEGRIS Bass Employee Giving Back in Unique Way
7-10-08

When Carrie Willson decides to make a donation to a worthwhile cause, she obviously takes to heart the idea that giving of one’s self, is the most precious gift of all.

By donating two, 12-inch ponytails of her own hair, Willson gave a part of herself that will give comfort to children whose own hair has been lost to a medical condition.

Willson, a dietitian at INTEGRIS Bass Baptist Health Center, donated her hair to the national charity, Locks of Love, which provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children who have suffered hair loss due to a medical diagnosis. By doing so, she made a short-term sacrifice for a long-term cause – restoring the self esteem of a child.

This is Willson’s third donation to the charity.  She made her first donation of hair when she was in college.  Willson was working at a Muscular Dystrophy summer camp and a group of campers and counselors decided to participate in Locks for Love.   Willson worked at the camp for two weeks each summer for ten years.   She made another donation while living in Dallas (the salon even donated the cost of the haircut in appreciation of the cause). 

According to the charity's website, http://www.locksoflove.org/, most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to alopecia areata, a medical condition which has no known cause or cure. The organization also benefits children who have been treated for cancer.  The website stated that 80% of all donations come from children who want to help other children.

Willson said she doesn’t think she did anything extraordinary.

“This is such an easy way to give.  It’s just a haircut.  I might not have as much time to volunteer and give back as I used to, but this is so easy.” 

She said she plans to keep donating to the organization and hopes that others might consider making contributions as well.

Her donation inspired a former co-worker, Gabby Winegarden, to do the same.   Both women made donations within a month of each other.

“The reaction from people here at the hospital has been surprise, mostly, because they are used to seeing me with long hair.”  Willson said.  

All in all, Willson said that Locks of Love contributions are “just a cool thing to do.  After all, hair does grow back."  Nonetheless, her gifts will make a lasting impact on the life of a child, in a time of need.

If you would like to donate hair to Locks of Love here are some guidelines :

• Hair must be in a ponytail or braid before it is cut.
• 10 inches measured tip to tip is the minimum length for a hairpiece
• Hair must be clean and completely dry before it is mailed in.
• Place the ponytail or braid inside of a plastic bag, and then inside of a padded envelope.

If you wish to receive our personalized thank-you card, please fill out the hair donation form, or write your name and address on a full size separate sheet of paper and include inside the envelope. We cannot acknowledge donors who do not send their name and address according to these instructions.

All hair donations must be mailed to Locks of Love at:

2925 10th Avenue N
Suite 102
Lake Worth, FL 33461-3099

For more information call Locks of Love at 888-896-1588  or visit http://www.locksoflove.org/ 

Dr. John Schrader Joins Medical Staff
7-7-08

INTEGRIS Bass Baptist Health Center is pleased to announce the arrival of Cardiologist John Schrader, M.D.   

Dr. Schrader has moved to the area from Omaha, Nebraska along with his wife and four children.  The family has purchased an old farmhouse, north of Lahoma, and have been busy remodeling the entire home, doing much of the work themselves and with the help of friends.

He received his bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, and received his medical degree from the Creighton University School of Medicine.  He completed an Internal Medicine Residency and a Cardiovascular Diseases Fellowship through the Creighton University Medical Center. Dr. Schrader recently completed a Cardiovascular Interventional Fellowship from The Cardiac Center at Creighton University Medical Center Department of Internal Medicine in Omaha, NE.  

Helping people is something that Dr. Schrader uses his free time to do as well.  While in Nebraska, Dr. Schrader was involved in many community service projects including: Special Olympics, Angel Tree Ministries, Habitat for Humanity, and local school and community programs which focused on health issues.  He was also a Math and Science Tutor and a Youth Bowling Coach.  Dr. Schrader said he is looking forward to continuing his community service work in Enid.

Dr. Schrader’s practice focuses on treatment of heart disease but also prevention and educating people about cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking cessation and other factors that reduce and help prevent heart disease.  

Introducing Dr. Nadim Daher
7-1-08

INTEGRIS Bass Baptist Health Center is pleased to welcome Nadim Daher, M.D.  Dr. Daher is a specialist in the treatment of lung disease and sleep disorders, including, but not limited to, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Asthma, Insomnia, Narcolepsy, and Sleep Apnea. 

Dr. Daher is the only Enid physician specializing in Sleep Medicine and only the second Pulmonologist in the community.

Dr. Daher recently completed a Fellowship in Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine from the University of Oklahoma, Health Science Center.  He received his undergraduate degree from the Lebanese University Faculty of Sciences, Beirut, and attended medical school at the Lebanese University School of Medicine.  Dr. Daher completed a rotating medical internship at Dahr-El-Bachek Hospital in Beirut and an internship in Internal Medicine at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN.

He is a member of the American Thoracic Society, the American College of Chest Physicians and a member of the Southern Medical Association.

Dr. Daher said he expects the sleep medicine portion of his practice will grow quickly.  Millions of Americans have difficulty getting enough sleep,  and sleep is as important to a person’s health and well being as diet and exercise.  Sleep deprivation can lead to medical problems.

“I care a lot for my patients and I enjoy helping people achieve positive outcomes.  I’m looking forward to building those relationships.”