New technology is redefining health care in Hanford

New technology, new doctors and a new hospital on the horizon have reshaped health care in Hanford, as residents no longer have to leave the county to receive specialized treatment.

Officials from Adventist Health say that more than 30 doctors have come to Hanford in the last two years, bringing mdical specialties previously unavailable in Kings County.

The hospital has also recently purchased new equipment, including two new high-resolution imaging machines and a guidance system for sinus surgeries.

Richard Rawson, chief executive officer and president of Adventist Health services in the Central Valley, said the hospital spends $2-$3 million per year on new equipment to improve care and to help persuade more doctors to come.

"We didn't have enough physicians, and that's why people left the community," said Rawson. "By bringing specialists here, it takes that need away."

"I'm really hoping it will bring people to Hanford rather than people from Hanford leaving," he said.

Two new 16-slice computed tomography (CT) scanning machines were purchased, each with a $500,000 price tag.

Dr. Sean Murray, a radiologist who arrived in Hanford about six months ago, said the machines are a vast improvement over previous CT scans.

"It basically allows us to look at X-ray images in three dimensions," he said.

Because the new machines see in such great detail much more quickly than earlier machines, they help patients avoid invasive surgery that previously would be needed to diagnose problems, he said.

Dr. Murray also uses the Picture Archiving Computer System (PACS), which allows him to view x-rays online, but also to share those images with his partners, who specialize in different types of radiology.

"One of my partners is a musculoskeletal expert, so when I'm looking at an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of an elbow that has something atypical, the orthopedic surgeons here not only get my expertise, but the expertise of all my partners."

"That's really the value-added service. You're in Hanford, but you're getting the expertise of someone in L.A.," said Murray.

In March, the hospital purchased a $199,000 computerized image guidance system that scans the patient's head and allows for precise calibrations when performing surgeries.

Using a CT scan, the system creates a three-dimensional image. Then, a camera shows the surgeon where his instruments are on-screen within 1 or 2 millimeters.

Dr. Daniel Schlund, an ear-nose-and-throat specialist who arrived in Hanford in 2002, said the guidance system makes sinus surgeries faster and safer.

"It gives us more confidence as to where we are," he said. "We can open blocked sinuses that can be hidden, and normally wouldn't be opened without the system."

The machine is the only one in Kings County, and one of a few in the Central Valley.

While the new machines have allowed for newer and better surgeries in Kings County, several Hanford doctors are also in the forefront of new surgical procedures.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Randy Bernabe is the only doctor in Kings, Tulare and Kern counties certified in hip resurfacing, an innovative alternative to total hip replacement. Meant for active, baby-boomer patients with arthritic hips who want to maintain their athletic lifestyle, the surgery preserves much of the bone that would be cut away during traditional hip replacements.

"What we're doing is just resurfacing the top of the (femur) ball, and putting on a metal cap, like a cap on your tooth," said Bernabe. "You're not pulling the tooth out, you're just taking out the cavity on top and putting a cap on top."

The 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis had the surgery following his win, and has written about its success on his Web site, floydlandis.com.

Bernabe, who came to Hanford two years ago, said he has performed two of the surgeries so far.

Dr. Mike Shin, an ear-nose-and-throat physician who will be working with Dr. Schlund starting July 23, will bring his expertise in several new plastic surgery procedures that are less invasive than previous methods.

One is an endoscopic brow lift, where small incisions are made behind the hair line. Traditional face lifts use one large incision made from ear to ear across the crown of the head.

"It's designed for an aging face, where eyelids droop and the brow droops," said Shin.

Shin will also perform lipotransfer surgeries, where fat is harvested from the abdomen and injected into the face.

The final step in improving health care in Hanford will be the completion of the new hospital, tentatively slated for early 2010.

Rawson said he hopes to have the construction contracts completed by September, and that the new hospital will be a huge selling point when recruiting new doctors to the area.

"A hospital isn't just a building, it's really what happens inside the building, and that's where our focus is," he said.

(July 18, 2007)