The Community Foundation provided Warren General Hospital a $15,000 grant towards the purchase of a new point-of-care Ultrasound machine for the Emergency Room. The purchase was made possible by the generous support of the Community Foundation of Warren County, and Community Foundation component Funds, the DeFrees Family Memorial Fund and the Libonati Fund.
Ultrasound is a painless imaging procedure that uses sound waves to instantly display images of organs, tissues, or other structures inside the body on a computer screen. Unlike CT, MRI, and X-Ray, ultrasound does not use any form of radiation which permits its use on every patient. The benefits of adding a bedside ultrasound machine to the WGH ED is an overall improvement in the quality of care resulting from several factors, including but not limited to; faster diagnoses of traumatic injuries and cardiac arrests, increased central intravenous (IV) and peripheral IV insertion success, reduction in patient discomfort, reduced complications, decreased wait times, and cost savings.
This equipment will allow ER Staff to perform FAST exams (Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma) to quickly assess and diagnose traumatic injuries where blunt or penetrating trauma has occurred such as car accidents, falls, or gunshot wounds. During cardiac arrest, providers can use ultrasound to immediately and definitively watch the heart for spontaneous activity which is imperative in the proper treatment of cardiac events. For critically ill patients, ultrasound can be used for guided insertion of a “central” IV line which is crucial for medications to be delivered simultaneously without fear of IV access being lost during resuscitation. For patients with respiratory illnesses, we can rapidly visualize the entire lung. The more rapidly we can diagnose a condition, the sooner we can begin treatment, thereby shortening the time of patient discomfort and improving outcomes. The American Board of Emergency Medicine considers ultrasound-guided insertion to be the standard of care. The purchase of this machine for our Emergency Department will assist in timely diagnoses leading to quicker intervention and improved patient outcomes.
Shown from left to right: Richard Allen (WGH, CEO), Kelsey Watkins (WGH), Mark King (CFWC), Ali Clark (WGH), Bernie Hessley (CFWC), John Hanna (CFWC), LouAnn Gadsby (CFWC), Mike DelPrince (CFWC), Dr. Scott Schoenborn (WGH).
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