Johnston Memorial Brings Specialty Medical Care Home to Abingdon
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Health-care appointments no longer mean driving long distances to an urban area or trekking to several locations to get the various services patients need.
Instead‚ a comprehensive array of options is now available at Johnston Memorial Hospital.
The Abingdon hospital opened a cancer center in 2007 and installed the region’s first and only digital mam mography system in late 2006.
The first phase of the $22 million cancer center opened in April 2007‚ followed by the second and final phase that summer. The cancer center campus covers about 50 acres on Lee Highway‚ near the hospital’s main campus.
“It’s a place we had selected for future growth and more visibility and easy access‚” says Sean McMurray‚ the hospital’s chief executive.
“It will serve the population through out southwest Virginia.”
The 60‚000-square-foot facility offers examining rooms‚ radiation oncology services‚ a diagnostic laboratory and a special staff to care for cancer patients’ needs‚ such as dieticians and social workers. The combination of services streamlines the process for patients with multiple physician appointments.
“It will reduce travel distances significantly for the highest level of cancer services‚” McMurray says.
The hospital also installed a second digital mammography system in a new outpatient imaging center‚ which will “make it even more convenient for the women of our region‚” he says.
Digital mammography allows detailed analysis of breast tissue‚ particularly in younger women‚ through magnification of test images.
“It’s an important tool to help diagnose breast cancer earlier‚” McMurray says.
Johnston Memorial Hospital‚ which marked its 100th anniversary in 2005‚ has added non-invasive cardiology services‚ expanded its emergency department and added an open MRI in the last few years. The hospital has more than 700 employees‚ including medical staff.
“It’s an exciting time‚” McMurray says. “We’re very much focused on better and more convenient care for our patients.”
That includes moving forward with a $4 million information system to electronically keep medical records and boost patient safety.
“The traditional model is a paper chart‚ and people put information on there‚ but the only way to get that information out is to comb through the records by hand‚” McMurray says.
The computerized system provides automated “red flags” that serve as reminders to caregivers.
“It has nice prompts and reminders included in the system that will make sure the appropriate care is being provided‚ which makes it safer for the patient‚” McMurray says.
Story by Cristal Cody
Photo by Ian Curcio
