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Sound Shore, Mount Vernon Facilities Undergo Major Digital Radiology Upgrade


Sound Shore Health System of Westchester has selected CoActiv to implement the conversion of Sound Shore Medical Center (New Rochelle, NY) and sister facility Mount Vernon Hospital (Mount Vernon, NY) to fully digital radiology environments. The multi-site, multi-phase project will combine CoActiv EXAM-PACS for digital image management, viewing and distribution, and CoActiv EXAM-VAULT QUAD-REDUNDANT ARCHIVING for image storage and disaster recovery (DR). CoActiv is also providing an expansive enterprise-wide radiology network IT infrastructure upgrade and, as an authorized AGFA reseller, a complete computed radiography (CR) installation. “A key goal of the project is to enhance physician and patient satisfaction with faster exam turnaround, improved department management and better communication with referring physicians,” explains Tom Truscio, Radiology Administrator for the two facilities. “The key challenge was to accomplish this within the budgetary scale of two medium sized suburban teaching hospitals.”

Following a two-year search of more than seven vendors, CoActiv emerged as the only company that could implement a solution meeting the hospital system’s combined financial and technology goals. In particular, within several years of conversion, the hospital system wanted to offset conversion costs with the savings realized through the elimination of film and related expenses. “ CoActiv offered an extremely high-quality product at a truly affordable price,” says Truscio. “Moreover, with its flexible financing package, we will be able to fund the PACS and related upgrades completely through our operating budgets. The digital conversion will actually begin saving us money within five years. And any savings due to a reduction in staffing will be in addition to that figure.” Sound Shore provides primary, acute, emergency and long-term health care to the residents of southern Westchester. The 321-bed facility is the largest teaching hospital in the county. Mount Vernon is a busy 196-bed community hospital also serving lower Westchester County, which borders on New York City. Both hospitals offer a range of modalities with exam volumes totaling more than 50,000 annually at each facility. Prior to the newly scheduled conversation, both departments are currently fully film-based and face the typical challenges of high film processing and management costs as well as slow exam turnaround and communications with referring and consulting physicians. With the goal of stepping up department efficiencies, as well as providing physicians with the enhanced image viewing and manipulation capabilities of the digital age, under Truscio’s direction, the hospital system set out to find a solution.

CoActiv provided an advanced, all-encompassing solution. With EXAM-PACS , the hospital will enjoy all of today’s state-of-the-art features, from 3D processing and streamlined offsite exam communication to paperless workflow with automated scanning and digital filing of prescriptions, technologist’s notes and more. This comprehensive digital upgrade also includes full integration of the hospitals’ HIS/RIS solutions. As part of the digital conversion, each hospital will have a full PACS application and onsite live digital storage holding more than five years of exams. The configuration will enable streamlined enterprise-wide image access across hospitals on a single platform. In addition to radiology, this will include the emergency room (ER), operating room (OR) and other key hospital areas. All exams also will be backed up offsite on two additional live archives through CoActiv ’s EXAM-VAULT Quad-Redundant Archiving. The offsite system also will become the primary archive for older exams as they age. Before selecting CoActiv, radiologists carefully evaluated EXAM-PACS features and were extremely impressed with the results. Reference sites also spoke highly about the technology. “ CoActiv also was extremely accessible to answer our questions and work with us to meet our needs,” says Truscio. “We know this will be an extremely positive and productive relationship. This contract with CoActiv was just finalized the week before RSNA. Radiologists are eagerly awaiting the conversion which will begin in December, with a go-live scheduled for January.”

Source: CoActiv Medical