| St.
Mary's Hospital receives Murdock Grant
St. Mary’s Hospital and Clinics recently received a $170,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable  Trust
to help purchase equipment to digitize their X-ray and Ultrasound images.
Digitizing an image means it can be sent and/or stored electronically.
The images will become part of each patient’s electronic medical record.
The hospitals’ CT scans have been digitized since their installation in
2004.
“Having our images stored electronically will mean we can send them over the phone lines to radiologists around the world for immediate readings,” said Heath Fox, Radiology Manager for St. Mary’s and Clearwater Valley Hospitals . “With equipment purchased through this grant we’ll also be able to put a person’s images on a compact disk or CD so they can easily carry it to an appointment with a specialist.” According to Pam McBride, SMHC/CVHC Grants Coordinator, representatives from the Murdock Charitable Trust made a site visit last year after receiving a letter of inquiry. “The Trust is truly interested in improving the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest through grants and awards that emphasize education and scientific endeavors,” said McBride. The Trust’s corporate office is located in Vancouver, Washington. It was established in 1975 through the will of Tektronix, Inc founder, Melvin J. “Jack” Murdock. Its assets of over $700 million make it one of the top five foundations in the Pacific Northwest. The Trust has dispensed over $300 million in grants and awards primarily in the Pacific Northwest in Idaho, Montana, Washington, Alaska and Oregon. “We truly appreciate the generosity of the Murdock Charitable Trust. For the past few years we have been planning to digitize our radiology images to improve the quality of the care we provide. Their award combined with others is allowing us to do that sooner rather than later,” said Casey Meza, SMHC CEO.  |
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