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Mercy Medical Center Offers Advanced 3.0T Imaging
SPRINGFIELD — The Diagnostic Imaging Department at Mercy Medical Center now offers the latest MRI (mag- netic resonance imaging) services with the addition of the new SIGNA Premier 3.0T wide-bore MR system to the list of technologies used to help detect possible illness and injury.
The SIGNA Premier MRI combines
the latest advancements in MRI with
the sophisticated engineering of a 3.0T wide-bore system, offering a new level of precision imaging with revolutionary coil technology and hyper-acceleration tech- niques designed to minimize scan times and improve image quality for orthopedic, neurologic, abdominal, spine, oncologic, and other conditions.
In an MRI scan, huge magnets and radio waves are used to provide images of the brain, neck, spinal cord, and body tissue. Patients often found these exams unpleasant and uncomfortable, as they were required to spend long periods of time in a long, dark, tunnel-like machine and be subjected to extremely loud noise. The SIGNA Premier 3.0T offers a more
From left: Lynn Shewchuk, Diagnostic Imaging administrator; Mercy Presi- dent Deborah Bitsoli; Lead MRI Technologist Chris Moore; and Darlene Cunha, chief Nursing officer.
use of state-of-the-art technology,” said Dr. Robert Roose, chief medical officer at Mercy Medical Center. “This particu- lar system not only provides the highest quality of images available to ensure an accurate diagnosis, it also improves the patient experience by offering a shorter exam time.”
“At Mercy Medical Center, our patients are at the center of everything we do.
The addition of the new SIGNA Premier MRI is another step in the continuous improvement of our clinical technology, providing patients with access to the most advanced MR imaging,” said Deborah Bitsoli, president of Mercy Medical Center and its affiliates. “In the near term, we also plan to add a new Biograph PET-CT mCT with advanced dose-reduction technology and a GE Nuclear Medicine/CT 850 ES, a state-of-the art cardiology nuclear camera to help in the evaluation of coronary heart disease.”
The SIGNA Premier 3.0T wide-bore MR system at Mercy Medical Center pro- vides MRI exams through a joint venture with Alliance Imaging Inc.
comfortable and faster MRI scan. Patients who are comfortable during
an MRI scan have an easier time limiting their movement, thereby allowing for a more accurate image. Also, depending
on which area of the body is being tested, many of the wide-bore MRI scans are performed with the patient’s head outside
of the system, allowing them to see the examination room and communicate with technicians during the procedure.
“The acquisition and utilization of the SIGNA Premier 3.0T wide-bore MR sys- tem is another example of Mercy Medical Center’s ongoing commitment to deliver- ing outstanding healthcare through the
Baystate Health to Open Child/Adolescent Behavioral-health Unit
SPRINGFIELD — Addressing the critical shortage
of behavioral-health services for children in the region, Baystate Health will open a temporary 12-bed child/ adolescent unit on its Baystate Medical Center campus in Springfield in April.
The closure of Providence Behavioral Health Hospital and the chronic shortage of pediatric behavioral-health beds has left many vulnerable children without any avail- able inpatient resources in the region. This has resulted in alarming numbers of children waiting for days and weeks in the emergency room and on pediatric medical units.
Dr. Barry Sarvet, chair of the Department of Psychiatry for Baystate Health, who specializes in pediatric psychia- try, noted that the health system has been collaborating with the state Department of Mental Health on how to meet the behavioral-health needs of the region’s younger population.
“This new unit will serve as a bridge, allowing us to provide inpatient psychiatric care for children and ado-
lescents over the next two years when our new Baystate- Kindred joint-venture behavioral-health hospital opens with a permanent pediatric/adolescent unit,” Sarvet said. “This temporary plan is consistent with Baystate Health’s longstanding commitment to behavioral-health services.”
Baystate Health and Kindred Behavioral Health’s joint venture to create a much-needed behavioral-health hospital in the region — for adults as well as children and adolescents — recently received unanimous sup- port from the Holyoke City Council to purchase land on Lower Westfield Road in Holyoke for construction of the proposed facility.
“I am delighted and grateful that the partnership be- tween Baystate and Kindred will address a critical health need of children in Western Massachusetts,” said Dr. Charlotte Boney, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Baystate Children’s Hospital. “The increasing prevalence of behavioral and mental-health problems in our children is a national challenge. Approximately 13% to 20% of chil-
dren in the U.S. experience a behavioral or mental-health disorder every year, making this a bigger challenge than COVID-19 in pediatrics. I so appreciate the leadership that Baystate Health has shown in taking action and step- ping up to address this critical need.”
The planned $55 million, 150-bed facility will address the shortage of inpatient behavioral-health beds in the region for adults, including geriatrics, as well as adoles- cents and children. Once the purchase of the land is final, which is expected in the next several months, it will take approximately two years to design and construct the new hospital with a targeted opening date in 2023.
“Baystate Health is fully committed to the principle that behavioral health is integral to the overall health and well-being of all people in our community,” Sarvet said. “Accordingly, we proudly accept our responsibility to ad- dress critical gaps in clinical resources to meet the needs of people of all ages who are struggling with psychiatric illness.”
Local Author’s Book Reveals Insights into Addiction Struggles
AGAWAM — With his latest book, Voices from the Fallen: True Stories of Addiction, Grief, Recovery and Courage, author Michael K. Tourville delivers eight true, heartwrenching stories of heroin and alcohol addiction in Western Mass. Each story is told from the first-person point
of view and includes perspectives from family members exasperated with their inability to solve the problem.
Voices from the Fallen powerfully shows
a variety of causes and effects of addic- tion and the relentless defeat of relapse. Hope and optimism are prevalent, but the accounts do not ignore the harsh reality of tragic outcomes.
“This is truly an eye-opening and honest read where the author expertly crafts an emotional and painful dialogue between the addict and their loved ones,” Hollywood Book Review notes. “Each story does a perfect job of showcasing how
substance-abuse can happen to anyone, and shines a light on a growing problem within our world.”
Added Tourville, “each of the eight stories differ from each other, and even if a reader connects with just one of them, that’s all that matters. If it motivates some- one to take action and, as a result, a life is saved, or a family is healed, then mission accomplished.”
Voices from the Fallen is 175 pages long
and is available in e-book and print ver- sions at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online booksellers.
Tourville was born and raised in West- ern Mass. and currently lives in Agawam. His previous book, A Promise to Astrid, published in 2018, was made into a movie by JC Films, starring Dean Cain. Voices from the Fallen is his second book.