Country Bank Pledges $700,000 to Baystate Mary Lane Hospital

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was staged last month for the upgraded general radiography unit in the Baystate Mary Lane Hospital Radiology Department in Ware. Country Bank donated $100,000 for the project. Pictured at the event are, from left, Anne Paradis, Baystate Health trustee and CEO of MicroTek; John Maybury, Chair of Baystate Health Foundation Board and president of Maybury Material Handling; Mary McGovern, Country Bank senior vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer; Lisa Millar, R.T., ARRT, manager of the Radiology Department; Chuck Gijanto, president, Baystate Regional Markets; Paul Scully, Country Bank president and CEO; Chad Mullin, director of Diagnostic Services, Baystate Mary Lane Hospital; and M. Shafeeq Ahmed, MD, chief operating officer and chief medical officer, Baystate Mary Lane Hospital and BH Eastern Region.

WARE — Country Bank recently pledged $100,000 to Baystate Mary Lane Hospital (BMLH) to help upgrade the general radiography unit located in the Radiology Department.

Whether checking for a broken bone or a dislocation, arthritis, an infection such as pneumonia, or some types of cancer, X-ray imaging has led to improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of numerous conditions in children and adults.  Each year, an estimated seven out of 10 Americans will have an X-ray taken, and at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, technologists will perform more than 15,000 exams.

The technology of conventional X-rays has changed dramatically over time, and over the past 10 years, digital technology has become widely used, adding to the clarity and quality of images taken. At the same time, the amount of radiation needed to produce an X-ray image has been reduced. Just as with photography, the flexibility offered by digital imaging, plus the reduction in film use and associated disposal costs, have represented additional gains. The way images are now taken, viewed, and stored is more efficient and effective.

Baystate Mary Lane Hospital has a wide variety of medical-imaging technologies in its Radiology Department. Thanks in part to the pledge of $100,000 from Country Bank, BMLH recently made significant upgrades to the general radiography unit. The new equipment provides superior X-ray images, stores them electronically, and allows for easy sharing of electronic files.

Dr. Steve Allen, chair of Radiology at BMLH, noted that, “this new technology provides higher-resolution pictures that we are able to view on the computer in the department, store electronically, and share with our medical colleagues — through the electronic medical record — so that we can quickly work together to make a diagnosis and determine the best course of treatment. This technology also increases the time staff spend interacting directly with their patients, instead of going back and forth between offices with images. So it benefits patients in many ways.”

Chuck Gijanto, BMLH president, said he is grateful for the continuing support of Country Bank.

“We recognize the impact which the bank’s long history of support has had on our ability to fulfill our mission,” he added. “Country Bank has long been a trusted friend and supporter of Baystate Mary Lane Hospital and, over the past years, has donated more than $700,000 to the hospital for various projects and campaigns.”