The Association for Medical Imaging Management and Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc, Tustin, Calif, announced 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.

IDN grant awarded to:
Akron Children’s Hospital (Akron, Ohio) – The 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.

Three pediatric programs:
Crouse Hospital (Syracuse, NY) – Acquiring Two Movable Lead Walls will reduce the radiation dose to neighboring NICU babies by purchasing two movable lead walls to place between infants at the time of x-ray.

Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (Hartford, Conn) – Acquiring Two “Laser Localizer” Accessories to provide training of 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 (Ashville, NC) – Child Life Intervention to Prepare Children for MRI Procedures: establishing the use of therapeutic play to reduce anxiety prior to imaging exams.

Three general program winners:
The Methodist Hospital (Houston, Texas) – Commit to Sit: focuses on establishing early, effective communication to improve patient safety and satisfaction using open dialogue and active listening.

Catalina Island Medical Center (Avalon, Calif) – ACT Now: to purchase materials to improve patient comfort, and implement protocols in ultrasound and CT regarding patient processing and communication and decreased contrast, infection, and radiation exposure.

Salem Township Hospital (Salem, Ill) – CT Contrast and Weight-Based Dosing: designed to improve patient safety and patient care while providing weight-based dosing, quality assurance metrics, automatic documentation, and integration into PACS and RIS.