Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - choc is the only children's hospital in southern california offering IR services provided by a pediatric-trained IR…

Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - choc is the only children's hospital in southern california offering IR services provided by a pediatric-trained IR sub-specialist. To support those IR services, the hospital is seeking federal funding to join with private funds to purchase a new cutting-edge image-guided therapy system to expand access and capacity to treat our medically complex patients, who currently face wait times upwards of six weeks due to the current wait list. Reducing the amount of time to reach a diagnosis can make a tremendous difference in outcomes for many diseases, improving healthcare for children by allowing treatment to begin sooner and saving lives. Specifically, this important project will support cutting edge equipment in choc's new interventional radiology (IR) unit. This imaging system is for patients requiring more complex interventional radiology procedures which may require two views of the anatomy. This can be achieved with the biplane machine without moving the patient. The equipment will also be used by all specialties at the hospital for minimally invasive and image-guided procedures to assist in diagnosing and treating a variety of illnesses and diseases. Choc's funding request will enable the hospital to ensure that everyone can access affordable state-of-the-art healthcare, regardless of factors like race, ethnicity or social economic status. This project allows choc's IR program to provide better care with fewer and shorter hospital stays (reducing cost of care) and fewer complications (improving safety & value of care). Choc is the only children's hospital in southern california offering IR services provided by a pediatric-trained IR sub-specialist. California as one of the most populous states has 8 dedicated children's hospitals and even so these specialized needs exceed our combined capacities especially regionally given the population size of LA and orange counties. This project will expand our ability to care for our community and beyond. Since every child is different, every treatment is different. For this reason, procedures for specific targeted areas can be overwhelming and complicated. Yet, IR is comprehensive enough to access, diagnose and treat almost every part of the body with a needle. Choc's team can directly access a target through the skin without a scalpel and use the body's innate transport systems (blood vessels, lymphatics, intestines, etc.) to reach almost any target. As a result, our team can develop tailored procedures for simple and complex medical conditions from blood clots to tumors. Other highlights: - choc has been designated a diagnostic imaging center of excellence® (dicoe) by the american college of radiology (ACR) for best-quality imaging practices and diagnostic care. - choc uses only board-certified pediatric radiologists and specially trained pediatric radiology technologists, nurses and child life specialists. - all radiology staff undergo age-specific training annually to learn how to work and communicate with children of varying ages. - we are only one of a few medical centers in the country to have child life specialists working in a dedicated pediatric radiology and imaging department.