Spectrum to upgrade Hart x-ray equipment

HART — Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital (SHLH) Family Medicine in Hart will soon upgrade to digital x-ray equipment that hospital officials say will provide state-of-the-art images and instantaneous transmission to radiologists for diagnosis.

The new equipment is expected to be fully operational in the second week of June. Other services at the Hart office will continue while the upgrade is in progress. During the transition, Hart general x-ray patients will have their imaging appointments at the hospital in Ludington, where MRI and other specialized imaging services are performed.

“The new x-ray machine is an up-to-date digital unit that will provide many benefits for our patients and their referring physicians,” said Gary Stoykovich, administrative director of medical imaging and cardiopulmonary at SHLH.

Benefits

“The greatest benefit of the new equipment will be direct digital network connection to the Ludington imaging department,” said Stoykovich. “This means each patient’s state-of-the-art high resolution images will be instantaneously available for analysis and diagnosis by our radiologists.”

Physicians for Hart patients, at the Family Medicine office and elsewhere, will also be able to view the images electronically and confer about them as needed with the radiology specialists.

Once the new x-ray machine is up and running, imaging and diagnosis will be further expedited by eliminating film developing processes needed for conventional x-ray images. The Hart facility will henceforth be a totally filmless imaging environment.

“During the short duration of this transition, beginning May 19, our scheduling staff will focus on providing convenient imaging appointments for Hart patients,” added Stoykovich.

“The change-over will involve considerably more than just removing one machine and installing another,” explained Michelle Miller, practice manager for SHLH Family Medicine. “The x-ray room will be completely remodeled to enhance the surroundings for our patients, with new flooring, paint and furnishings, and we will significantly upgrade the electrical system.”

The SHLH Family Medicine office is located at the corner of 72^nd Ave. and West Polk Rd. The phone is 231-873-2163.