Hello everyone,
Inglewood Imaging Center, LLC (“IIC”) is happy to announce it has completed a significant and lasting investment into the City of Inglewood, LA County, and Southern California, cementing ourselves in the heart of LA County by finalizing terms with Siemens Medical, Hologic & Agiliti on a multi-modality equipment facility upgrade including a brand new MRI, 3D Tomosynthesis Mammo, Ultrasound, DEXA and X-ray units.
INSTALLATION COMPLETE FOR SEVERAL ITEMS
Three of the five units have already been installed, including the DEXA, Ultrasound, and X-ray, and they are simply remarkable! Our new x-ray, for example, is delivering accurate images at up to 62% less radiation than the older generation systems– something I didn’t know was possible – while our new ultrasound will add echocardiography, OB, and general imaging in a remarkable compact package. (See the magnificent video by Siemens for their “Juniper” systems features/benefits here on this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2-sFLcnDOQ ).
NEW RADIOLOGISTS / IIC STAFF ADDED
Our astounding radiology group added TWO new staff radiologists this past month after completing training from UCLA and USC. IIC has also added several new staff receptionists and technologists to help support patient care, and our impressive x-ray technologist (Giovanni Baab) was named “one of the most professional and talented x-ray technologists” by Konica/Minolta’s application trainer during his training tenure.
MRI & MAMMO ARRIVAL DATE
Some logistics updates in relation to the new MRI and Mammo. Both are arriving from Germany in mid-September, so IIC will be renting a mobile MRI for approximately 6-8 weeks while our existing MRI and mammo suites are renovated and the new equipment is installed and ready for operations. We are targeting a 10/1/2020 opening date for both units, and clinical information will be forthcoming on features and benefits.
COVID/SAFETY UPDATE
Regarding COVID, IIC is following the safety rules set forth by best-case standards including; 1) patient access only 2) sanitization 3) temperature check (99.9 max) 4) physical distancing & 5) mask-mandate for all building inhabitants. We are also developing a new “visual” MRI safety questionnaire – I believe will be the only one of its kind in the USA – to help make things safer for patient and staff accuracy.
CHALLENGES/ OPPORTUNITIES
I also wanted to also acknowledge, and potently apologize, to referring MDs, patients, etc. during the challenging COVID pandemic. We did encounter staffing shortages during the pandemic’s bleakest months, which did impact our scheduling and staffing, but we are now fortunate to be back to full strength (with some added screening for “chest” exams) to serve our community.
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Hope all is well. We are excited to advance care in Southern California during the unprecedented time.
Bradley Schmidt,
Founder & CEO – Inglewood Imaging Center, LLC