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Hospital to Receive $400,000 Federal Grant for Information Systems
The Westerly Hospital will receive a federal grant
of $406,767 to be used to fund improvements to the Hospital’s
information systems technology thanks to the efforts of Senator Jack Reed
and Congressman Jim Langevin the Hospital.
“Information
technology holds great potential for the future of healthcare in terms of
safe and efficient operations.
Both from a patient care perspective and an economic perspective,
this grant will be of great benefit to the Hospital and the
community,” said Charles S. Kinney, Hospital president and
CEO. “We have made great
progress in this area, and Senator Reed and Representative Langevin have both visited the Hospital to learn more
about our information systems improvements,” Kinney continued. “In receiving this welcome news,
we thank Senator Reed for the confidence he has expressed in our plans
and initiatives and in the future of the Hospital,” said Kinney.
Hospital
board of trustees chairman Fred A. Allardyce
also expressed appreciation.
“There is quite possibly no industry more dependent than
healthcare on the accurate and secure storage, retrieval and transference
of information in a timely fashion,” Allardyce
said. “Yet it is impossible
for us to generate from our operations alone all the capital required to
make this important investment in the health of the community,” he
continued.
Improvements
in information technology have included the upgrades to the systems in
the laboratory and pharmacy, which are underway, as well as the
installation of the “picture archiving” (PACS) system in the
radiology department. This digital
recording and storage of diagnostic images makes them available more
quickly to physicians in their offices, and is far more efficient than
the traditional film and chemical processes it replaces.
12/07
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