Informational cure
By AMY HANSEN CNA staff reporter ahansen@crestonnews.com
|
| Dr. Richard Deming, medical director of radiation oncology at Greater Regional Cancer Center, demonstrates how to use a linear accelerator on Alanna Stuart, a radiation therapist, for a GRMC video on the cancer cancer and radiation therapy. The video will debut in waiting rooms and on the new GRMC Web site in February. (CNA photo by AMY HANSEN) |
Greater Regional Medical Center is taking audio-video technology and using it to help prepare and educate its patients on surgery and therapy.
The hospital is currently working on a video about Greater Regional Cancer Center and its radiation therapies. The educational video will be played in waiting rooms and on the new GRMC Web site that will debut in February.
“Without having the equipment on audio visual, people don’t know what we’re talking about when we talk about the linear accelerator,” said LouAnn Snodgrass, executive director, continuum of care. “Now, they’ll be able to see it and picture it in their minds, and maybe it would reduce some of the fears that might come with what radiation therapy is and how it’s done.”
Videos will be produced in every department for training purposes and to create an online tour of the facility.
Cancer center
Interviews were conducted with the cancer center’s staff Tuesday afternoon in the treatment vault in front of the new linear accelerator, a device that manufactures high-energy X-rays with multiple energies of protons and electrons.
“We started here because this is cutting-edge medical technology,” Snodgrass said, “and it’s something we can offer here in southwest Iowa that people don’t have to drive in the city for, and we wanted to make sure that they knew that. A lot of folks, given the weather, wouldn’t be able to get to their appointments.”
One theme the video for the cancer center will focus on is the importance of having radiation therapy in southwest Iowa.
“This cancer center is very important for southwest Iowa,” said Joan Weis, co-director of the radiation oncology department. “All the services we have here, from the very first diagnosis, to the consultation, treatment planning, follow-ups, everything can be done here. It keeps the patient close to their families and off the roads. It’s close-to-home treatment.”
Dr. Richard Deming, medical director of radiation oncology at the cancer center, also stressed the importance of local radiation therapy during his interview.
“We’re very fortunate that Greater Regional Cancer Center has invested in state-of-the-art technology to provide the same type of treatment that can be administered in Des Moines, Iowa City or Omaha,” Deming said.
Therapy
Deming said a lot of cancer patients undergo many types of radiation therapy treatments and see multiple physicians.
“Nowadays, cancer treatment is multi-disciplinary,” Deming said. “A patient may end up getting all three forms of cancer treatment — surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.”
Weis said she believes it’s important for the staff to work as a cohesive unit to make patients comfortable during their treatment.
“The team in the cancer center is one of the most compassionate group of people I have ever worked with,” Weis said. “They have a genuine empathy for our patients, and we make it our goal to make our patients very comfortable. We also have a lot of fun here. You can’t go through something like this without having a sense of humor, and we just feel that’s very important for everybody.”
Snodgrass said it is important for GRMC to not only keep the patient at ease, but their families, as well. She said this video will be one more way to accomplish that goal.
“Hopefully, the video makes it more comfortable for them,” Snodgrass said.
