AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management and Toshiba America Medical Systems have named the seven recipients of the fifth annual Putting Patients First grant program.

Six grants of up to $7,500 were awarded to hospitals, three focused on pediatrics and three on overall imaging, and one grant of up to $20,000 was awarded to an Integrated Delivery Network (IDN)/hospital system.

The IDN grant was awarded to Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio, whose Radiology Patient & Family Education Program will develop educational materials to increase the knowledge levels of patients and their families of the radiation dose they will receive during examinations.

The three pediatric programs are:

• Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y. – The hospital will acquire two movable lead walls to reduce the radiation dose to neighboring infants in the neonatal intensive care unit by placing the movable lead walls between infants at the time of x-ray.
• Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, Conn. – The hospital will acquire two Laser Localizer accessories and train radiologic technologists in proper use of this tool for existing 9900 C-arms, which will greatly reduce the amount of time patients are exposed to ionizing radiation.
• Mission Children's Hospital Reuter Outpatient Center in Ashville, N.C. – The center will establish a Child Life Intervention to Prepare Children for MRI Procedures, establishing the use of therapeutic play to reduce anxiety prior to imaging exams.

The three general program winners are:

• The Methodist Hospital in Houston – Its Commit to Sit program focuses on establishing early, effective communication to improve patient safety and satisfaction using open dialogue and active listening.
• Catalina Island Medical Center in Avalon, Calif. – The center’s ACT Now initiative centers on the purchase of materials to improve patient comfort, and implementation of protocols in ultrasound and CT regarding patient processing and communication and decreased contrast, infection and radiation exposure.
• Salem Township Hospital in Salem, Ill. – The CT Contrast & Weight-Based Dosing program is designed to improve patient safety and patient care while providing weight-based dosing, quality assurance metrics, automatic documentation and integration into PACS and RIS.