NSMC Radiology Department – on the front lines of fighting COVID-19
Back in October of 2019, we talked with Alice Pyles, Director of Radiology here at the Sunflower Medical Center. It was Breast Cancer Awareness month and we wanted to learn more about the 3D mammography’s her team provides. NSMC is still the only hospital in the Delta that provides this groundbreaking technology so it was a pretty big deal for us.
Well, November 9th– 13th was National Radiologic Technology Week, so we decided to check back in with her to see how things are going. Not surprisingly, her team is fighting to get through 2020 just like the rest of us.
“People think about radiology as being back in the department, away from all the action,” Alice told us. “When we are working with a patient with COVID, we are central to the care that patient receives. In many cases putting our own health and safety on the line, working closely with the infected patient, to help identify what respiratory issues they are experiencing by taking images to confirm the diagnosis.”
Radiologic technologists are an important part of your wellness team when you come to North Sunflower Medical Center. The work of technologists, including imaging scans, leads to a longer life expectancy and improved medical outcomes. Scans are an important diagnostic tool that can save patients money and provide a diagnosis to the referring provider.
Working with referring physicians, technologists are experts in doing proper imaging while providing excellent care to the patients.
“It’s a lot more than taking pictures and producing images,” Alice said. “In a lot of cases, we know what the patient is dealing with before their physician does. When we see they have an infectious disease, our job is to confidently treat them with the level of care we would want for our own families – even when that puts our own people at risk.”
Dr. Jason Morris, staff Radiologist, provides our radiologic technologist with guidance to help our patients get the best diagnosis. This, in turn, provides our providers with a diagnosis to treat the patient.
Alice says that NSMC has an amazing team of radiology techs who lovingly care for their patients. “You get to know people a little bit more with each visit. We remember them when they come back and you develop a real relationship over time. All of us come to love each of our patients, and that makes me proud to be part of this remarkable team.”