Case Statement for a new O’Connor Hospital Imaging Services

The first and only Catholic hospital in Santa Clara County, O’Connor Hospital has been responding to community health care needs for more than a century. The original San Jose Sanitarium, as it was called, was built in 1889 by Judge Myles and Amanda O’Connor. In 1898, the Daughters of Charity established the O’Connor School of Nursing in conjunction with the sanitarium. Renamed O’Connor Sanitarium in 1906, the hospital continued to operate in tents and temporary buildings although partly destroyed by the Great Earthquake. Then in 1944, the sanitarium was renamed O’Connor Hospital to reflect the growing scope of health care services available to the community.

Today, O’Connor Hospital is a 358-bed acute care, not-for-profit, hospital offering a range of high quality medical,  surgical and specialty services to the people of Santa Clara Valley, with special attention to the poor and vulnerable.

Imaging Services
O’Connor Hospital is always growing and improving with an eye to the future. The Imaging Services department is an integral part of O’Connor Hospital and contributes to the hospital’s role as a leading health care provider in Santa Clara County. The department is staffed by expertly trained and certified medical imaging specialists committed to providing excellent and compassionate patient care. The Imaging Services department at O’Connor Hospital has been repeatedly recognized for high quality service and exceeding patients’ expectations while performing more than 75,000 exams annually. Since 1987, Imaging Services caseload has increased from 90 to 270 patients per day. The CT Ultrasound usage has increased from three to 40 patients per night.  Almost every patient at O’Connor is seen, in the Imaging Services department, at least once; many patients are seen as many as 15 times. Even with aging equipment and a dated department in desperate need of remodeling, the Imaging Services team has received the highest patient satisfaction scores in the hospital.
Board certified physicians working as members of the Imaging Services team have training and certification in areas such as neurological imaging, interventional radiology, body imaging, breast imaging, nuclear medicine, and ultrasound. These physicians are important members of the health care team and work closely with patients’ physicians, providing knowledgeable interpretation utilizing the many imaging tools and treatment techniques available. This ensures that the best possible decisions are made for patient care.

The Existing Facility

Diagnostic imaging is an extremely important foundation for modern healthcare delivery. In November 2006, the Imaging Department installed an MRI suite with a Siemens MAGNETOM Avanto MRI scanner. With the installation of this state-of-the-art imaging equipment, O’Connor Hospital can continue our commitment to providing patients and referring physicians of the San Jose and South Bay communities with excellent diagnostic and healthcare services. Additionally, in late 2007 the department purchased a state-of-the-art 64-slice CT scanner, and construction will be completed for the new Ultrasound area this spring.

The remainder of the equipment was purchased in the 1980s and currently only one machine is digital.  In the last years, two general X-ray units were de-installed and removed because they were no longer functional.  We have two additional units that are no longer supported by the manufacturer due to age and lack of available parts.  When this aged equipment fails, patients are not properly served because the equipment is down for weeks at a time. For example, our only fluoroscopy room was non-functional four times last year, causing delays in patient care.

Diagnostic Radiology is an important function in the Imaging Services Department. The area currently houses: two functioning rooms for general X-ray, one working fluoroscopy room, one chest room, one mammography room and an angiography suite.  Over half of the tests performed in the Radiology area are outpatient procedures or a combination of outpatients and emergency room patients. With our Emergency Department continuing to see rapid growth – an average of 160 patients a day - and our outpatient business continuing to climb, we are struggling to assure prompt patient care.

Our Vision for the Future

We need your help. Our current Imaging Services area is very small and improperly designed. Therefore, your financial support is needed for a complete remodel and update of equipment to meet the current needs of our patients, accommodate future growth, and provide our customers with a greater degree of privacy, efficiency and comfort. 

Additionally, this campaign to support and raise funds for the existing Imaging areas would enhance the environment for physicians, donors and associates.

 The Daughters of Charity Foundation recently funded a new fluoroscopy room for $885,500.

Additional equipment and rooms needed to meet today’s standards include:

• two Multipurpose Rooms
• two Fluoroscopy Rooms (one funded)
• one Full-Field Digital Mammography unit
• one Angio Suite
• one Chest Room
• a spacious and comfortable patient waiting room
• a private patient registration area to ensure confidentiality
• a comfortable dressing area designed for the privacy and dignity of our patients

O’Connor Hospital strives to provide compassionate and excellent service to all those who are in need of medical care. A remodel of our Imaging Services department will help our patients feel safe and comfortable, ultimately facilitating the healing process. Evidence suggests that a patient-focused design and  healing environment can improve patient, family, and staff satisfaction and provide a positive return on investment.

Imaging Services Campaign Priorities

Purpose: A Campaign to raise funds to remodel the Imaging Services area and update equipment to meet today’s standard of care in the Radiology Department.

Remodel of the following department areas:
    Admitting, corridors, bathrooms, dressing room areas $800,000
 
General Room:
     Replacement and related construction for x-ray machine $950,000
 
Mammography Room:
      Digital equipment replacement and enhancement $750,000
 
 
Total Capital Requests: $2,500,000

For more information or to arrange a tour, please contact Toni Neary Harper, Foundation CEO at
408-947-2896 or toniharper@dochs.org.